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Chicken Croquettes | Croquetas de Pollo

Introduction & method

Unlike British croquettes, which tend to be mashed potato-based, these Spanish-style croquetas are based around a thick béchamel sauce. This version includes leftover chicken and is a great way to utlise leftovers.

 Chicken Croquettes | Croquetas de Pollo Recipe

Make Béchamel Sauce


Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and mix to a smooth paste. Cook it gently for a minute or two. Add the milk and cream and cook until thickened.

Add Chicken and Onion


Finely chop the onion, mince the garlic  and shred the chicken. Heat a little oil in a small frying pan and sweat the onion, chicken and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is softened but not browned. Add this mixture to the béchamel along with the mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of hours until quite firmly set.

Make Croquettes


Now you need to divide the mixture into 20 equal-sized balls. If you want to be super-accurate, weigh the whole mixture, divide that number by 20 and then measure out individual portions. Or just use a small ice-cream scoop. Sprinkle flour on your worktop and hands to prevent the mixture sticking while you work with it. Make sure all the balls are well-coated in flour too. Now take each croquette and roll it into a sausage shape.

Bread the Croquettes


The croquettes need to be coated in breadcrumbs so you'll need a shallow bowl with one or two beaten eggs in it, and a larger bowl with breadcrumbs in it. You can stir a teaspoon of smoked paprike into the crumbs if you like - this improves the flavour and the colour. Take one croquette and coat it in egg. Place it in the breadcrumb bowl and use your other hand to cover the croquette in crumbs. Using both hands like this will stop you growing massive clumps of breadcrumbs on your fingertips.

Cook the Croquettes


Pour about 5cm (2 inches) of oil into a large pan (it whouldn't be more than half full). Heat the oil so that a cube of bread will sizzle when you place it in.



 
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Chicken Croquettes | Croquetas de Pollo

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Ingredients & Info



 300 ml semi-skimmed milk
 60 ml double cream
 50 grams butter
 50 grams plain white flour
 1 small onion
 1 clove garlic
 250 grams leftover cooked chicken meat
 75 grams breadcrumbs
 1 egg
 small handful flatleaf parsley
 a pinch of ground nutmeg
 half a tsp salt
 half a tsp white pepper

PLUS

Oil for frying


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

makes 20 croquettes
Prep time: 20 minutes.
Cooling/setting time: 2 hours.
Cooking time: 5 minutes.
Total time: 2 hours 25 minutes.