When we asked Chef Damo and the lads for a recipe to kick off our Chef Notes section, it took them literally seconds to decide what to cook. It just had to be our Jamon and Manchego croquetas.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
For the filling
1 brown onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary
300g jamon or proscuitto, finely chopped
125g butter
125g plain flour
400ml milk
100ml cream
100ml chicken stock
1 cup manchego or mozzarella, grated
For crumbing
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain flour
2 cups panko bread crumbs
WHAT TO DO
In a heavy-based saucepan on a low heat, sweat off the onions,then add garlic and rosemary and cook for further 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped jamon and stir through just enough to render some of that delicious fat out. Add the butter to the mixture. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook for further 2 minutes.
In a separate pot, bring milk, cream and chicken stock to a gentle simmer. Gradually add 1/4 of the liquid at a time to the jamon mixture, continuously stirring until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. You might not need salt depending on the jamon or proscuitto you use. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Once mixture is cool, add the grated manchego. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or until the mixture is completely cold and firm.
Roll heaped tablespoons of the mixture into croquetta shapes(about 5cm long-and 40g), and place on a lined baking tray. Before crumbing, put he croquetas back in the fridge to firm again. You will find after rolling, the mixture will heat up and soften.
Put the extra flour, eggs and bread crumbs into three separate bowls. Toss the croquetas in the flour, dip in the egg, allowing the excess to drain away, then roll in breadcrumbs. Put back onto the tray and refrigerate
Either using a deep fryer, or heavy-based saucepan 1/3 full of oil at 170C, add croquetas in small batches and deep fry for 3 mins turning until golden brown. Drain well, serve, enjoy with an icy cold Estrella...
Note, croquetas can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days or frozen. But you'll be lucky if there's any actually leftover.
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