SERRANO HAM AND CHICKEN CROQUETTES

Hi there, the winter is here, we have to prepare everything for the ski season now, the first snow is here, and they've promised to make more this week end, the official opening day of the slopes is 30th of November. During this weekend the lowest temperature was down to minus 3 degrees celsius.

Today, the Veleta top, photo taken from Otura

We have some apartments for rent in the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, different sizes from studios ( 2 persons), to two bed rooms, (up to 8 persons), very well situated at the Pradollano Square, only 2 min. from the cablecar, and with all facilities, restaurants, shops, ski-schools. ski-rentals, supermarkets,kindergarden etc.
You can contact Berit at ;

skiservice@msn.com

Sierra Nevada has more than 100 km of slopes, 17 green very easy, 40 blue easy, 52 red difficult, 7 black very difficult , have a look at www.cetursa.es where you have several webcams, maps,pricelists etc. The skiing starts at 2165 m Borreguiles, the mid station at 2665m ,  up to the highest point El Veleta at 3398 m.   Situated only 30 km. from Granada city, and 80 km. from  the Mediterranean coast.

Here comes the recipe of today, this makes about 40 croquetas,

Shopping list

300 gr. carne de pollo.                 ( chicken)

150 gr. jamon serrano                  ( serrano ham)

6 cucharadas de margarina.         ( tablespoons of margarin))

6 cucharadas de harina de trigo.  ( tablespoons of wheat flour)

1 1/4 litro de leche entera.            ( whole fat milk)

Una pizca de sal, de piemienta blanca y de nuez moscada.      ( a pinch of salt, of white pepper and of ground nutmeg)

2 huevos.                                    ( eggs)

8-10 cucharadas de pan rallado. ( tablespoons of bread crumbs)

Optional, but not official, some sesame seeds.

Aceite de oliva + aceite de girasol para freir.  ( olive oil + sunflower oil for the  frying)

I often make some chicken stock, and then use the chicken meat from that, if not, buy the chicken and grill it in a fryingpan without the skin, in both cases, cut into small cubes, the serrano ham can be bought reday cut at the super, I like the very tiny variation, or if you have some ham, cut in very small cubes.

Start melting the margarine, and when it starts to bubble, add the wheat flour together with the salt, pepper and nutmeg, mix, it will become sort of a dough ball, start adding the milk little by little, mixing completely before adding more milk, until you get a smooth " dough", let it cook for 6-7 min, try out the taste, it must not taste of flour, if it does, let it cook for another while, and add more nutmeg and pepper for your taste. Then add the chicken and the serrano ham, let cook for a while 4-5 min, and now taste if you need more salt, the serrano ham will always add salt so perhaps it's not nessesary. I'm using Pink Himalaya salt, much more helathy than normal salt.

The "dough" should now be thick, smooth and a little sticky, it's important that the consistency is firm, take it over to a big dish, the dough must not be more than 1 1/2 cm high(see photos)  , let cool, cover with plastic film and put in the fridge until next day.

Next day, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt in one bowl, in another you have the breadcrumbs, start cutting the "dough" into pices of 1,5 x 4 cm, as you see on the photo, and roll them between your hands, then dip in the egg, and finish with the breadcrumbs, trying to give it a nice shape. You may find it a little difficult and messy the first time, but they taste so good, and the experience makes you a master for next time, jejejejje !!!!

Ready to fry.

In a frying pan, mix the olive and the sunflower oil, I don't give you a messure, it depends on the size of the frying pan, but it must be 2 cm. or a little more, and heat, I try with a little breadcrumbs to se if its hot .

Don't use a big frying pan, it's better to have a small one, as you have to turn them , or use an electric deep fryer. Fry until golden, use a kitchen paper towel to drip of excess of oil, and then arrange on a platter, ready to munch.

The croquettes can be a meal by themselves, accompanied with a good salad, my man like to have potato chips, but I find that exessive, it's better with some vegetables. Or use it as fingerfood on your next party, they can be made in advance and frozen, or kept in an airthight container for a couple of days, only to fry the party day. Be careful with the children, croquetas keep the heat for quite a while, and it's easy to burn oneself, let them rest a little while, and in my house everyvody likes them room temperature if there are any lefties.

Sometimes I mix a little sesam seeds in the breadcrumbs, you can see it here, I like it very much, but it's not in the recognized recipe, every Spanish house wife has her own trick, often learned by their mothers or grandmothers.

I'm so proud of myself today, finally I had the time to find out of the Insta Collage, it saves a lot of space, and I think you might be tired of scrolling over the posts. Please tell me if you find this better, leave a comment, and do register yourself as a follower, many news for x-mas.

Thanks for reading, hope this is going to be a success on your table.

Tonight is one of the nights I watch TV, and go to bed early, golf lesson tomorrow morning.

Night, Night.