Spanish
Croquetas Caseras (Homemade Ham Croquettes)
Croquetas Caseras (Homemade Ham Croquettes) is Spanish home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 6 oz jamon serrano
- 1/2 onion
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups breadcrumbs
- 2 cups olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
How to cook it
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the finely chopped onion, and cook gently until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, then gradually whisk in the milk a little at a time until you have a thick, smooth batter.
- Stir in the diced jamon serrano, the nutmeg, the salt, and the pepper, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until very thick and pulling away from the sides of the pan.
- Spread the mixture into a shallow dish, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm enough to shape.
- Shape the chilled mixture into small logs, then roll each one first in the flour, then the beaten eggs, then the breadcrumbs, coating evenly.
- Fry the croquetas in batches in the hot olive oil until deep golden on all sides, about 3 minutes, drain on paper towels, and serve hot, the classic way to use up cocido leftovers.
Serve it with
A Spanish dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Croquetas Caseras (Homemade Ham Croquettes), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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Something to sip
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Something cool and fresh
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Croquetas Caseras (Homemade Ham Croquettes) carries dairy, gluten, and eggs. It is free of the remaining 7 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | Yes | Ajoblanco (Chilled Malaga Almond and Garlic Soup) |
| Gluten | Yes | Alubias Blancas con Chorizo (White Beans with Chorizo) |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | Yes | Ajoblanco (Chilled Malaga Almond and Garlic Soup) |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Hearty
- Protein
- Medium
- Protein quality
- Complete
- Food groups it covers
- Grains, Dairy, Meat or fish, and Egg
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Croquetas Caseras (Homemade Ham Croquettes) takes about 90 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a proper project. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on ham, milk, and flour.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from Spain.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.