Aljomar Iberian Ham Croquettes, the recipe of Martín Berasategui himself

Martín Berasategui prepares some delicious Aljomar Iberian Ham Croquettes. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 75g of finely chopped onion
• 75g of butter
• 75 ml of mild olive oil 2
• 25 g of flour
• 3,120 ml of milk reduced by half
• 2 eggs
• 300g of finely chopped Iberian ham trimmings

Preparation of Iberian Ham Croquettes

For the filling:

Boil the egg in salted water for 10 minutes, then cool, peel, and finely chop it. Place the milk in a double-bottomed saucepan, adding a tablespoon of water first to prevent it from sticking to the bottom as it reduces. Reduce the 3120g of milk to obtain 2000g.

Melt the butter and oil together in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the onion is tender. At that point, add the flour, mix well and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat without letting it brown.

Let the roux cool completely to prevent lumps from forming later. Gradually add the reduced, hot milk, stirring constantly.

We'll use an immersion blender to blend the onion flavor and obtain a smooth, fine, and homogeneous mixture. We'll let it cook until it reaches the desired consistency or creaminess, approximately 12 minutes.

Remove from heat, add the chopped egg, mix, add the chopped ham and mix well again.

Adjust the salt level.

For the croquettes:

1. Once the dough is made, pour it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and lightly greased with oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
2. Chill the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
3. The next day, shape the croquettes into balls, greasing your hands with a little oil so the dough doesn't stick. Let the balls cool in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before breading.
4. After the dough has rested, roll the balls in flour. Place flour on a tray and, using the palms of your hands, touch the flour to remove the excess. Then, reshape the croquettes into balls. Next, dip them in beaten egg and let the excess egg drain on a tray with holes. Finally, coat them with breadcrumbs. You can fry them immediately, but if you're making them in the morning and they're for dinner, keep them in the refrigerator until ready to fry. Take them out an hour beforehand so they come to room temperature and don't remain cold inside. If you want to freeze them, arrange them neatly on a tray and freeze.
5. Fry them between 180ºc and 200ºc until they are golden brown and piping hot inside.

Serve