A Classic with a French Past

Croquettes are fried bites filled with creamy béchamel, meat or vegetables, and are a staple on menus across Spain. Although closely associated with Spanish cuisine today, they actually originated north of the Pyrenees, in France.

The spelling croquettes is used in both French and English. In Catalan, the plural form is ‘croquetes’, while in Spanish it’s ‘croquetas’. In the singular, both languages use ‘croqueta’.

Croquettes are thought to have originated in 16th-century France, although they didn’t gain widespread popularity until much later. It was in the late 18th century that French chef Antonin Carême began serving croquettes to the nobility, helping to establish them as part of classic French cuisine. Carême is also known for organising the fundamental sauces of French cooking, including béchamel, which forms the base of traditional croquettes.

Born into poverty, Carême rose to become one of the most influential chefs of his time, cooking for royalty and political leaders across Europe. On 18 January 1817, he served croquettes in béchamel sauce to the Grand Duke of Russia and the Prince Regent of England, later King George IV, who reportedly named them ‘croquettes à la royale’.

From Tavern Staple to Home Kitchen

Once croquettes crossed the Pyrenees, they quickly became part of everyday Spanish cooking. Today, they appear in countless variations, with fillings ranging from vegetables to fish and seafood. The most popular versions, however, are still those made with cured Spanish ham, such as ‘jamón ibérico’ or ‘jamón serrano’.

You’ll find croquettes on menus throughout Spain, including Catalunya, with flavours often reflecting local ingredients. While even high-end restaurants serve their own versions, croquettes are not just for professional kitchens. Making them at home is perfectly achievable, requiring patience rather than technical skill, especially when preparing the béchamel and allowing time between each stage.

From Kitchen to Crunch

Getting Started

First of all, the filling. Basically, you need to make a béchamel sauce first, then add your chosen main ingredient for the desired flavour. We’re going for ‘jamón serrano’ in this example, but you can use almost any ingredient you like according to your taste.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 50g unsalted butter *

• 50ml extra virgin olive oil *

• 100g all-purpose flour

• 1 medium onion, very finely diced **

• 750ml milk (approx), at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

• 200 – 250g Serrano ham, finely chopped

• Salt and pepper

Method

If you want your croquettes to be a little chunkier inside, then finely chop and do not blend, or you could even prepare your filling and béchamel all in the same pan, but if it’s your first time making croquettes, we suggest preparing your béchamel separately to ensure you get the consistency right and adding your main ingredient after.

* Additionally, some recipes use only butter and no olive oil, and others the opposite, while other cooks prefer to use a mixture of the two. For this recipe, we’ve gone with a 50/50 mix, but you can adjust to your own preferences. Also, bear in mind that if your filler ingredient will produce fat during cooking, like the ‘jamón serrano’ in this case (as opposed to, say, mushrooms), you can use a little less butter/oil.

** As with Spanish tortillas, there are those who use onion in croquette recipes and those who are vehemently opposed to its inclusion! We prefer them, but feel free to leave them out if you wish. If you are using onion and want your croquettes to have a smooth, uniform filling, it’s better to prepare the ‘jamón serrano’ and onion beforehand, then cook them and blend them into a paste.

Phase 1

• Add your chopped serrano ham and onion to a pan over a medium to high heat

• Fry for a couple of minutes until the onion turns a light brown

• Add the nutmeg and mix in

• Remove from pan and set aside to cool

• (Once cool, place the mix in a blender for a smooth filling.)

• Add your butter and/or oil to the pan on low heat

• Gradually start adding the flour, stirring constantly

• Once all the flour has been added, start adding milk, a little at a time

• To create a smooth roux, it’s essential to keep stirring all the time

• Keep the heat set at low to medium, as the roux should never start to boil

• Once the desired consistency has been achieved, remove from the heat

• Remember, the béchamel will be less liquid when cooled, but you are looking for a considerably thicker consistency than in a béchamel you would use when cooking canelones, for example. Otherwise, the forming and shaping of the croquettes will be challenging, to say the least!

• Add the ‘jamón serrano’ and onion mix to the béchamel and stir well

• Add a little salt and pepper if desired

• When all the ingredients have been combined and mixed well, and you are happy with the flavour, place the whole lot into a bowl or dish and cover with cling film.

• Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight for best results. If in a hurry, you could also put it in the freezer for about half an hour.

• When the croqueta filling mix is completely cold, it’s time for phase two.

Phase 2:

You’ll need:

• 2 or 3 eggs, well beaten

• Breadcrumbs

• Flour (optional)

• With moist hands, divide the filling into bite-sized pieces and mould them to your desired shape.
  (If, despite your best efforts, you are finding it hard to form the dough into the desired shape, a helpful trick is to place it in the freezer on a tray until it is hard enough to cut into rectangles, and then roll it in your hands to round off the corners.)

• For crispier breading, coat each croquette in breadcrumbs, dip it completely in the beaten egg, and coat it again in breadcrumbs.

• If you prefer a thinner coating, coat in flour first, then the egg and breadcrumbs, or just dip straight into the egg and then in the breadcrumbs.

• Ideally, leave the coated croquettes to rest for a while, as this will make the outside firmer and increase their resistance when frying.

Final Phase: Frying

When frying your croquettes, it is crucial that the oil is hot enough but not too hot. If the temperature is too low, the croquettes absorb too much oil, and if too hot, they can burn on the outside, affecting the taste, and may not be hot all the way through on the inside. The ideal temperature should be around 180ºC.

If you are frying in a pan, make sure to turn the croquettes halfway through to ensure even cooking. Alternatively, you could use a smaller and deeper pot so that the croquettes are entirely submerged in the oil – depending on how many croquettes you prepared, of course! A deep-fat fryer is best if you have one, and apparently, air fryers work too, but we haven’t tried that method yet.

Famous Little Guys!

By the way, did you know that there’s an International Croquette Day? Well, there is, and it’s on 16 January!