From Michelin to Michelin: recipe for Echaurren and Casa Marcial ham croquettes
Croqueteros, croquetistas, croquetófilos and croquefans . It is not the first time that we address you these days. We return to the fray with new recipes to prepare these delicious croquettes , those breadcrumb balls stuffed with bechamel and a heart of the most varied pleasures. Today is the classic the ham one . And not one, but two ways of preparing them, hand in hand with two great Spanish cuisines.
Nacho Manzano , chef of martial house (Asturias), with two Michelin stars; and the gastronomic legacy that he left us Marisa Sanchez , founder of the restaurant Tradition, National Gastronomy Award and the main person responsible for croquettes becoming a cult object, back in 1957 (as her son, Francis Paniego of the doubly starred Echaurren, who continues to serve them in the restaurant, assures us).
They are easy, and they will get you out of more than one jam. If you always wanted to learn how to make them, that's how they put them to Fernando VII.
CROQUETTES RECIPE FROM CASA MARTIAL
250 grams Serrano ham
3l of milk (if possible with full fat)
240g Of flour
200 ml. olive oil mild flavor
40 grams of butter
5 grams of salt
ELABORATION
Fry the ham, previously chopped into squares, in the oil and butter. when it browns, Add the flour and stir well while cooking for about 4 minutes. so that the flour does not burn. Add the hot milk and let it cook 15 more minutes over high heat and another 15 minutes over low heat without stopping stirring.
Place the bechamel obtained in a tray and cover with plastic wrap ( so that it is stuck on it so that it does not generate a crust ) and put it to cool in the fridge.
We make the croquettes with an oval shape and the desired size . We coat them first in egg and then in breadcrumbs (thin and without much color), moving them energetically in the source so that they generate a small film. Let them rest in the fridge for three hours. . We fry the croquettes by submerging them in a fryer at 180 degrees, just a few at a time, so they don't break.
Casa Marcial ham croquettes
RECIPE OF THE CROQUETTES OF THE RESTAURANT TRADITION AND ECHAURREN
2 liters of whole milk
130 gr Arias Butter
160 gr loose wheat flour
20g Onion
50g chicken breast
20 gr Serrano ham
50 ml Meat Stock
2 Unit Fresh Egg
ELABORATION
Put the butter in a saucepan over low heat to melt and add the minced ham . In a separate pot Sauté the chicken breast cut into 4cm pieces , with an onion in thick slices. The purpose of the onion is to slightly sweeten the chicken breast, which should be very well done and dry. When it has cooled down, we crush it with the help of a robot or thermomix and add it to the ham and butter.
To everything we add the flour little by little , working with the hand rod, and incorporating the milk, previously boiled, in small quantities to make the bechamel. The more you work the bechamel, the finer and more homogeneous it will be. Add the meat stock and continue stirring. Add the salt and the boiled eggs. , previously minced or crushed with a fork. Give a couple more turns and take out on a tray.
Spread the top layer with a little butter so it doesn't crust. Let stand 12 hours to cool. We mold the croquettes in a size of 20gr Pass first through breadcrumbs, then through egg and again breadcrumbs. We leave them in the chamber for an hour before frying them in abundant olive oil . We fry them in abundant oil and take them out on a kitchen kitchen paper to drain.
Note from the unforgettable Marisa: “The croquettes that we serve at Echaurren are always molded from the day, the ones from the day before are worthless and cannot withstand freezing . It is normal for some to break or open a little when frying, to that we say that ' the croquettes cry , and it is a symptom of quality. We are looking for a melting, fluid, almost liquid and very tasty dough”. Thanks a lot.
Francis' croquettes (with a recipe from his mother, Marisa Sánchez)