Spanish Croquetas

You can order croquetas at pretty much every bar in Spain, though they are usually made of ham and cheese or fish. A vegetable variety is rare, but the most common types include mushroom, spinach, and eggplant/aubergine. This recipe is for spinach croquetas, but you can replace the spinach with whichever vegetable you fancy! Note: this recipe requires around 2 1/2 hours of refrigeration.

Makes 10 croquetas

What you need:

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp margarine (or 2 tbsp more olive oil)

4 tablespoons flour

1.5 tsp salt

1.5 cups soy milk

2 cups fresh spinach or other vegetable

1 cup water

1 cup breadcrumbs

Spanish croquetas are made of béchamel sauce mixed with filling. So first you will need to make your béchamel. In a medium sized pan, add the olive oil and butter until hot. Add the flour and salt and mix until a smooth paste forms. Add the soy milk and whisk on medium heat until it thickens (around 15 minutes). Then add the spinach and cook for another 5-7 minutes. If using another vegetable, lightly cook it before adding into the béchamel. Put everything in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. After you have refrigerated the batter, you can start forming the croquetas. With wet hands (the water will allow the breadcrumbs to stick to the croquetas), roll around 10-12 croquetas into log shapes around 7 cm long (3 inches). In a small tray, lay out the breadcrumbs and roll each croqueta into the breadcrumbs until it is covered. Refrigerate breaded croquetas for 30 minutes before frying. After you have refrigerated the breaded croquetas, add olive oil to a frying pan until its about 5 cm (2 inches) tall. The olive oil should be a bit smoky when it is ready. Add the croquetas and fry on each side for around 2 minutes or until the outside is crispy. Serve hot!