During the period of time I spent as a college student in Rome (1994), I walked every morning from Piazza Navona, to the Pantheon and towards the terminal in Largo Argentina to catch bus #75 towards Trastevere and got off at the last stop before exiting the city’s walls, in via Pietro Roselli where the school is still located today.  This was always an experience of epic proportions due to the characters and situations I encountered along the way!  Ja! The cobblestone streets and piazzas are always busy in Rome. Locals and tourists bump into each other constantly. I must say that generally, the public transportation in Roma was very reliable and followed mostly an honor system. As a matter of fact, no one ever asked to check my bus ticket during the six months I was there!  However, I had been warned about the pick-pocketers, dirty old men and gypsies. In the beginning, the overcrowded buses were a bit scary to me so as I hopped on the bus, I would immediately place my backpack on my chest and find a window to lean my back against (there are few seats on buses) to protect myself from some stranger grabbing my ass!  In addition, as the months got warmer, I was told to walk “inside” sidewalks so that petty thieves in motorinos would not pull away my bag. Thankfully, and maybe due to my heightened sense of awareness,  my stay was incident free in this marvelous and historic city.

On late afternoons, as I came back from school, I would often stop at a take-away food rotisserie/pizzeria/bar called Il Delfino near the bus station in Largo Argentina.   Most of the time I would order crochette di patate (fritters made of a mixture of bechamel and potatoes which I would eat instantly) and a half roasted chicken to go and share with my roomates.  The crochette were huge and irresistible!  This was the beginning of my fascination with croquettes.

Croquettes are a French invention (croquer= to crunch) which has gained worldwide popularity over the years as an appetizer.  They are also a popular Spanish tapa, so due to our Spanish heritage, in Puerto Rico almost every bakery offers croquetas in their menu, especially the Cuban bakeries (my husband loves Sandwich de Croqueta).  The most popular ones are ham croquettes, but you can also find chicken and cod. That being said, most places serve commercial croquettes and nowadays, very seldom you find the creamy homemade kind.  My favorites were found at the recently closed Fortin de Felipe Bakery in Hato Rey. I also like the ones served at the prestigious Bodegas Compostela Restaurant in Condado. Nevertheless, I like to make my own croquetas every now and then.

I am subscribed to weekly emails from a fun site for foodies like me called Tasting Table.   They recently partnered with Williams Sonoma to promote their Sous Chef Series in which famous chef’s protegés showcase one of their recipes.  This recipe of Croquetas is inspired by a recipe from Joshua Whigham, Chef de Cuisine of The Bazaar Restaurant in Los Angeles, California owned by renowned Spanish Chef José Andrés, who coincidentally, will open a new restaurant in Dorado, Puerto Rico in the near future.  They are mostly made of a thick bechamel sauce and your favorite ingredient. Thats the trick.  Don’t make them too big.  No potatoes need to be added. As an additional note, our version of the potato fritter is called Relleno de Papa and are filled with Picadillo.

If you wish to make them ahead of time, leave in the oven at 200ºF to keep warm.  For the chicken croquetas, I buy a whole roasted chicken from the supermarket and shred 2 cups with my fingers (no skin), then run through the food grinder of my Kitchen Aid Electric Mixer.  If you don’t have a food grinder, shred very small and mix with the bechamel sauce then bread.  I have done it and they turn out great.  Same with cod.  Even so, this cannot be done for ham croquettes, you will need the grinder for better results.

Croquetas should be smooth, creamy inside and crunchy on the outside, almost flash fried.  You can make the mix ahead of time, shape, bread and refrigerate.  I make them for special occasions or family gatherings, like I did last Sunday for Mother’s Day and everybody raved about them.

Enjoy!

Croquetas

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup or 4 ounces)

1/2 cup of finely chopped yellow onion

3/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of warm milk

1 tsp fine sea salt

pepper to taste

1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

2 cups of Roasted Chicken or Serrano Ham (about 8 ounces), ground ( I ground in my Kitchen Aid Electric Mixer with the Food Grinder attachment)

Breading

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup of bread crumbs, cracker meal or panko, I use Rovira Brand

Procedure

1.  In a large sauce pan, melt butter (medium heat) and sauté finely chopped onions just until translucent.

2.  Add flour and cook stirring with a whisk or spatula.  Stir continuously and cook mixture about 5 minutes until it begins to turn golden and smell toasty.

3.  Add warm milk in a steady stream, whisking continuously until you get a creamy mixture.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

4.  Add ground roast chicken or ground Serrano ham and combine well with a spatula.  You will end up with a creamy dough that doesn’t stick. Set aside and let cool for about 30 minutes.

5.  Shape croquetas in the palm of your hand into small cylinders (about 1 tablespoon).  First dredge them all in flour.  Then in beaten eggs and finally in bread crumbs/ craker meal.

6.  Fry in olive oil (there is also a blend of olive oils for frying that you may use) at 375ºF for about 1 minute until just golden, in small batches.