James Martin's Spanish ham and manchego croquetas
James Martin whisks up a taste of Spain, with a dish inspired by his latest culinary adventure. He’s making bite-sized balls of deliciousness, ham and manchego croquetas.
Spanish ham croquetas
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Croquetas:100g butter150g plain flour500ml milk75g Manchego, grated½ tsp saltFreshly ground black pepper100g Serrano ham diced100g flour2 eggs, beaten100g breadcrumbsOlive oil, for deep-frying50g aged Manchego, to serve
For the Romesco sauce:100ml olive oilA few sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves only2 cloves garlic200g jarred roasted red peppers100g almonds, roasted1 tsp smoked paprika2 tbsp sherry vinegar1 medium sized tomato1 slice of bread, friedSalt and pepper, to taste
Method
1. Place the butter into a pan over a medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the flour and combine. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook gently on a very low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mix to cool for a few minutes and then beat in the Manchego cheese, ½ teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper and the Serrano ham. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 2 hours.
3. Shape the mix into small-medium sized round balls and then coat them in flour, followed by the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
4. Make the Romesco sauce by placing all of the ingredients for the romesco sauce into a food processor and blitz until a coarse paste. Set aside.
5. Heat the oil for deep-frying to 180℃. Drop the croquetas into the hot oil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until crisp and golden, do this in batches.
6. Drain the croquetas on kitchen paper and serve immediately over a base over Romesco sauce, and grate over the 50g Manchego cheese to finish.