Recipe: Ibérica Leeds head chefs shows how to cook authentic Croquetas de Jamon

Chef Enric Garriga even admitted that the croquetas are one of his favourite dishes on the menu.

"I love them. I’ve not met anyone that doesn’t actually", he said.

"They’re the ultimate comfort food."

Ingredients

250 gr. of Serrano Ham (available to purchase at the Ibérica deli)

3 l. of whole milk

250 g. of flour

250 ml. of olive oil (Soft and Light)

5 gr. of salt

For the coating

Eggs (beaten)

Bread crumbs (thin and light coloured)

Method

Cut the Serrano ham in little square pieces and fry gently in the olive oil.

Once the ham turns a nice golden colour add the flour, mixing it thoroughly and cooking it for a further 10 minutes.

Heat the milk to boiling point and then stir it in little by little (while hot) to the ham and flour mixture and gently simmer for 50 minutes, stirring often so it does not stick to the pot, until you have a nice béchamel or white sauce.

The ideal pot to cook this amount of béchamel would be one with a diameter of 30 cm. which will help with the liquid evaporation.

Transfer the béchamel to a tray greater than 4cm in depth, covering the bottom of it with the mixture to a thickness of 4 cm.

Allow to cool to room temperature and then cover the mixture with cling film (The film must rest on the surface of the mixture so it does not create a crust).

Then transfer the tray to the refrigerator until it is firm and has set

Next, shape the croquettes into an oval form and the desired size.

Coat each croquette first with egg and then with bread crumbs rolling the croquette through the crumbs fast so it has only a light coating.

Leave the croquettes settling in the fridge for a further 3 hours.

Fry the croquettes a few at a time so they do not stick to each other or break in a Deep fryer at 180 degrees.