spanish croquettes (croquettas) with chorizo & chicken

Spanish croquettes (or croquettas) with chorizo and chicken, packed full of flavour – a perfect plate of tapas!

This week’s Spanish croquettes recipe is simplicity itself, and is inspired by past holidays spent in Barcelona. Drinking wine (or sherry in my case) and eating tapas, these delicious croquettes where always something I ordered.

I do love small plates of tapas, perfect bite-sized offerings packed full of flavour. In Barcelona it was Spanish ham croquettes (or jamon croquetas) that I enjoyed with my glass of wine.

I enjoy nothing better on a warm day (not that we are having many of those at the moment) than to sit down around the table with my family and friends, picking at plates of tapas.

Perhaps it is the dreadful weather that made me think of this recipe, desperately trying to evoke memories of past summer holidays in the warm sunshine!

What substitutions can I make?

Spanish ham croquettes:

In Spain croquettes are traditionally made with ham or jamon. However, I’ve substituted the ham with chorizo and I have also added in some leftover cooked chicken. The chicken would work equally well with either ham or chorizo, or indeed on its own!

Croquettes are an ideal way of using up leftovers and that’s what I have done here. To be honest, I reckon they taste better with leftover roast chicken as it really adds to the flavour.

Spanish chicken croquettes:

However, if you don’t have leftover chicken you can use fresh chicken too. Dice the chicken small and add it to the pan along with the onion, to cook through before adding the chorizo.

Recipe steps:

Cooking the béchamel filling:

Crumbing the croquettes:

Can I make this dish ahead of time?

The chorizo and ham filling can be made up to two days ahead of time. Simply make the thick sauce, allow to cool, before covering and placing in the fridge.

Once the mixture has chilled a little, remove it from the fridge and shape the thickened sauce into quenelle shapes.

Next, place each quenelle into a tray lined with baking parchment, then cover and pop back into the fridge until you are ready to crumb and cook!

This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days beforehand. However, I do recommend crumbing on the day that you actually plan to cook these croquettes, otherwise the crumb will go soft!

Can these croquettes be frozen?

This recipe makes a large quantity, perfect for a Tapas party. I like to make the fully quantity and save some for later as these croquettes are easily frozen, before they are bread crumbed.

Once the sauce has been cooked and cooled, shape the croquettes as per the recipe card. Then place the croquettes individually onto a large baking sheet, taking care to keep them from touching.

Place the tray in the freezer for 3 hours to allow the croquettes to harden. Next remove the tray from the freezer and place the individual croquettes into a box with a lid and return once more to the freezer.

When you are ready to enjoy, remove the number you want from the freezer and defrost overnight in the fridge. When ready to eat remove from the fridge, crumb, cook and enjoy immediately.

The croquette filling will keep for up to 4 months in the freezer.

Top tips:

This Spanish croquettes recipe starts with a base of bechamel sauce. However, the bechamel sauce does require to be considerably thicker than a normal pouring bechamel sauce!

You need it to thicken enough so that once chilled you can quenelle them into individual croquettes that hold their shape. The sauce will be thick but this is ideal for shaping.

When ready to deep fry, remove the Spanish croquettes from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Otherwise, you risk the breadcrumbs burning before the inside filling has heated up properly.

Do not add too many croquettes to the pan at a time, 2 or 3 will be enough. If you add too many you risk then sticking together and also reducing the temperature of the oil, which stops the breadcrumbs from becoming golden.

What can I serve with croquettes?

We enjoyed these Spanish croquette for lunch, served warm with a homemade chilli mayonnaise and a parsley oil, perfect for dipping.

However, we also served them as a side dish with a roasted pumpkin puree at one of our Supperclubs. They made the perfect accompaniment to our Roast Chicken with Chorizo & Butter Bean Stew.

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Some other recipes to try:

If you like this recipe then try some of our other simple canape dishes:

• Potato & Cheese Croquettes
• Spiced Pork Bonbons
• Lamb Curry Puffs
• Cocktail Sausages – 3 ways
• Baked Camembert with toppings
• Spiced Almonds

spanish croquettes with chorizo & chicken

A deliciously flavoursome croquette that can be served as a canape, a starter or as tapas alongside other dishes.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Chilling Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 50 croquettes

Calories: 59kcal

Author: Lesley Garden

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 tbsp plain flour (season with salt and pepper)
• ▢ 2 large eggs (beaten)
• ▢ 200 g panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1 ltr sunflower oil

Croquette Filling

• ▢ 100 g unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 small onion (very finely chopped)
• ▢ 150 g cooking chorizo (very finely chopped)
• ▢ 100 g cooked chicken (very finely chopped)
• ▢ 150 g plain flour
• ▢ ½ nutmeg (grated)
• ▢ 1 ltr chicken stock
• ▢ 1 large handful parsley leaf (roughly chopped)
• ▢ salt & pepper

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook gently for 10 minutes to soften the onion. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the cooked chicken to the pan and mix well.
• Reduce the heat to low, add the flour and the nutmeg to the pan and cook the flour gently for 5 minutes. Stir constantly as you want the flour to cook but not burn.
• Gradually add the chicken stock to the pan and stir continuously to avoid the sauce becoming lumpy. The sauce will start to thicken, you want a smooth fairly thick sauce. Once you’ve achieved this take it off the heat, stir through the parsley and season to taste.
• Remove the pan from the heat, pour the sauce into a flat dish and leave to cool. Once cool place the mixture in the fridge for an hour to become cold and thicken.
• Taking a heaped tablespoon of the mixture, shape into a quenelle. [At this stage you can freeze the croquettes. Place each individual quenelle onto a lined baking sheet and open freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer and freeze as normal in a bag or box. When ready to cook remove from the freezer and defrost in the fridge overnight.]
• Dip each quenelle into the seasoned flour, then into the beaten egg and finally into the panko breadcrumbs. Place on a plate and once all croquettes have been bread-crumbed, pop the plate back into the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Pour the sunflower oil in a medium sized saucepan and heat to 180C. Place each croquette onto a slotted spoon and lower gently into the hot oil. Do not over-crowd the pan, cook the croquettes in batches, turning once to ensure an even cooking on both sides. Watch the temperature of the oil and lower if you think the croquettes are cooking too quickly.
• When golden brown remove from the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Serve immediately when still warm.

Nutrition Facts

spanish croquettes with chorizo & chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 59 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 14mg5%

Sodium 70mg3%

Potassium 21mg1%

Carbohydrates 6g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 72IU1%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Canape, Starter, Side

Cuisine : Spanish

Keyword : chicken, chorizo

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