SPANISH SERRANO HAM CROQUETTES (CROQUETAS DE JAMON SERRANO)

We really hope you are enjoying this very nice long weekend :-) Happy Columbus Day for everyone :-) Today it is a special Day to celebrate. In Spain we also celebrate this day, October the 12th as our National Day or Fiesta Nacional de España. It is also called the Hispanic Day or the Dia de la Hispanidad. It is also celebrated as the day of the Armed Forces in Spain and the Day of one of our National Patron Saints, La Virgen del Pilar.  So have a Great Day and we really hope you enjoy it very much, despite the weather :-)

This we want to share with you is a very easy and recipe, the Spanish Serrano ham croquettes :-) You will love them. This is the perfect starter for a nice meal to share with family and friends and we promise you that once you start eating them, you can not stop ;-) they are very delicious :-).

Here you have the recipe and we really hope you prepare them and enjoy them :-):

INGREDIENTS
* 100 gr. (4oz) of diced Spanish Serrano ham
* 1 medium size onion
* 1 clove garlic
* 4 tablespoons wheat flour
* ¾ liter (3 ¼ cups) milk
* ½ broth stock cube
* Ground nutmeg
* some salt
* Ground Black pepper
* 1 beaten egg
* bread crumbs
* mild olive oil

WAY OF COOKING:
* We are going to start by frying the finely chopped onion and the clove of garlic in a frying pan with three spoons olive oil on medium heat
* Once they are poached, we are going to add the flour and stir it to slightly toast it.
* We are going to season it with the salt, ground nutmeg and black pepper.
* We will warm the milk up and then add the 1/2 dissolved (in warm water) stock cube. Then we are going to start adding it slowly to the pan while stirring. We will just see how the croquettes dough begins to thicken. We will keep on stirring until we see that the dough comes off the pan.
* We will add now the dices of Spanish Serrano ham, stir it and mix it.
* We take it away from the fire, pour it on a baking tray and let it first cool down outside and then we put it into the fridge
* Now it is the moment to make our ham croquettes, we cut the dough into dices and then make the shape of the croquettes by hand.
* We are going to pass them first by a beaten egg and then by the bread crumbs
*And then, to finish with, we are going to fry them in hot olive oil (though not boiling oil already, since they will burn immediately). We will let them drain on absorbent paper.

And they are now ready to serve at the table and enjoy them :-) Have a great week and keep on enjoying this great weather as much as you can !

By the way, if you have a special wish about any recipe you would like to learn to cook, please let us know. My mother and I will cook it for you in this section :-) You can contact us at pilaraprendiendoacocinar@gmail.com