Spinach Croquetas with Cheese

Preparation Method

Melt the butter, add the flour and stir well for 2 minutes.

Add the milk little by little, mixing well, and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the Parmesan, spinach, salt and nutmeg and mix well.

Remove from the heat.

Take to the fridge to firm up. After 1 hour, shape into dumplings weighing 30 grams each.

Cook in the fridge until firm.

Bread the croquetas, first in wheat flour, then in egg and finally in breadcrumbs.

In a medium pan, heat the oil to 170 °C. To check if it's at the ideal temperature, dip the tip of a croqueta into it and see if intense bubbles form around the dumpling. If so, the oil is just right.

Fry up to 6 dumplings at a time, for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

For best use, when you take the croquetas out of the oil, drain them on a rack supported by a mold of the same size. This way, the excess oil will drip into the pan, preventing it from remaining in contact with the croqueta and damaging its crispiness. Serve afterwards.

Tips:

- For best frying performance, the ideal is to fry only 20% of the volume of snacks at a time, considering the total amount of oil, and to use deep pans with small burners, which prevent the oil from oxidizing due to direct contact with the air.

- If frying frozen croquetas, the ideal is to use a lower temperature (150 °C) for 3 minutes. This way, the croquetas will defrost completely without burning.

- To blanch the spinach, wash and deseed the bunch. Heat a pan over medium heat for 1 minute, add the spinach leaves, cover and wait 3 minutes. Drain and set aside. This way, the steam created by the hot pan will whiten the vegetable.