You simply cannot go out in the evening and enjoy some tapas without ordering some croquettes. I have to confess, more recently I have developed a habit of judging the quality of any tapas restaurant based on their croquettes. And the salted cod croquette is one of my absolute favourites. Pulling it apart with my fingers, and dipping it into a heavy garlic aioli. For me, these croquettes beat a chicken nugget any, and every, day of the week. No question!
During one of my recent Spanish lessons, we got onto the topic of food and the variety of local restaurants, using that subject as the basis of the lesson. But my tutor María, was surprised to learn that I was able to cook traditional Spanish croquettes. I was told that it´s considered to be quite a difficult task and that not many people cook them at home; I was quite humbled to think that this was a dish I´d cemented into my growing collection of Spanish recipes. I promised her I would take her a batch the next time I cooked them. That day has not yet arrived, but as I´m writing this, I´m already thinking about next weeks meals. Yes, salted cod croquettes will be featuring on the menu; again.
I’ve known some restaurants to use mashed potato as the base filling for their croquettes. The result is a much heavier and denser filling. Now, I understood why I was judging restaurants by the quality of their croquettes. Its very simple; the amount of time needed to invest into making a quality croquette is often dismissed when restaurants are trying to produce large quantities of food on a budget. It seems that my initially uneducated assessment, was spot on.
Alternative Fillings
The same recipe can be easily adapted to accommodate any number of flavours and fillings; you may need to tweak it depending on the texture of your chose filling. Trial and error is your friend here. I’ll add additional recipes for alternative fillings at a later date, but for now here’s a few suggestions and fillings you will often see in restaurants and tapas bars.
- Ham (Cheese optional)
- Chicken (Cheese optional)
- Beef Oxtail
- Chorizo
- Mushroom
- Prawn
Let your imagination run wild, would love to hear what other combinations work for you.
Ideas for a quick dip
It’s all well and good having the created the perfect croquette; but if you’re like me, then you also want to have the best, easy to make dip, to dunk them into. Here are a couple of my favourites.
Garlic yoghurt and herb
This is a simple yoghurt based dip. I prefer the full fat variety over fat-free, mainly because they have less sugar than the alternatives. Mince some chopped garlic until you a paste, again as much as little as you like. Taste every step of the way until you reach your preferred strength; remember you can always add more but you can’t take it away. Add some freshly chopped herbs – parsley, mint and dill work well with the salted cod croquettes. Season to taste and finish with some lemon zest for that extra zing.
Seafood sauce
For my take on the traditional seafood sauce, I combine equal quantities of mayonnaise and ketchup. Homemade mayonnaise is always best, but you can use the jarred variety as well. Add some minced garlic, a good amount of spicy paprika, onion salt and a pinch of chilli powder. I always add chopped parsley and more grated lemon zest.
Salted Cod Croquettes
Equipment
- 1 8" square non-stick tin
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 3 Shallow bowls or plates
- 1 Slotted spoon or Chinese spider sieve
- 1 Baking sheet or tray
Ingredients
Croquette Filling
- 1 lt Full fat milk
- 40 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g Unsalted butter
- 1 Banana shallot finely chopped
- 1 clove Garlic finely chopped
- 1 Green pepper (small) finely chopped
- 100 g Plain flour
- 140 g Garden peas defrosted if using frozen peas
- 250 g Salted cod chopped into ½ cm pieces
- 2 tbsp Fresh flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 0.5 tsp White pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Croquettes
- 75 g Plain flour
- Seasoning to taste
- 3 Eggs large
- 250 g Breadcrumbs fresh is best
- Sunflower oil for deep frying
Instructions
Preparation
- Lightly grease an 8" square non-stick baking tin, a brownie tin would work perfectly for this. No need to line the tin, the thin layer of oil will do the job of preventing your mix from sticking to the tin.
The bechamel sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan with the olive oil over a medium heat, you want the butter to melt but not burn.50 g Unsalted butter, 40 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- Add the shallots, garlic and green pepper. Cook until the shallots begin to appear translucent, 4-5 minutes. You don´t want any colour on the garlic or the onion.1 Banana shallot, 1 Green pepper (small), 1 clove Garlic
- While the shallots are cooking, heat your milk in a saucepan but don´t let it boil.1 lt Full fat milk
- Next, turn the heat down and add 100g of the flour and give it a good stir until all of the flour has been mixed in; depending on the quality of the flour, it should have the consistency of a thin paste. You need to cook out the flour for 2-3 minutes to remove that "floury"; invest the time and cook it slowly.100 g Plain flour
- Add the milk and keep stirring until all of the ingredients are fully combined and any lumps have been removed. You can use a plastic whisk at this stage if you prefer. Once combined turn the heat up and bring to a gentle simmer until it thickens, about 5-6 minutes. You could apply the French approach and add a little grated nutmeg at this stage if you like, but I prefer to keep it light and fresh. A little lemon zest also works well.1 lt Full fat milk
- Add the salted cod, parsley, white pepper and dijon mustard. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the cod is cooked through. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed. Finally add the peas and cook for another minute.250 g Salted cod, 2 tbsp Fresh flat-leaf parsley, 0.5 tsp White pepper, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 140 g Garden peas
- Pour the bechamel mix into your prepared tin and cover. Chill for at least 6-hours but ideally overnight in the fridge. You want the mix to be firm to make it easier when shaping your croquettes for bread-crumbing.
Creating the croquettes
- Crack the eggs into a wide shallow bowl and lightly whisk, adding seasoning to taste.3 Eggs, Seasoning
- Put the flour in another shallow bowl of similar size, no need to season if you have already seasoned the flour. Same again with the breadcrumbs. You are going to dip your croquettes into the egg, then the flour and finally the breadcrumbs so ideally have all 3 bowls lined up next to each other.75 g Plain flour, 250 g Breadcrumbs
- Using a spoon and oiled hands, take enough of the mixture to form a 2-inch long croquette shape. Gently roll the croquette in the flour, the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Then repeat with the egg and breadcrumbs a second time and place on a large plate or baking sheet.
- Once you have shaped all of your croquettes, then place the baking sheet with the croquettes into the fridge for about an hour.
- Heat a deep fat fryer to 180°C. Using a spoon, gently lower 3 or 4 croquettes into the oil and fry until they reach a nice golden brown colour. Remove from the oil and place onto some kitchen towel to drain off any excess oil. Continue to cook the croquettes in batches until they´re all done. Place onto a server platter and eat whilst they are still warm.Sunflower oil
Notes
Nutrition
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