Croquetas de Cabrales

Croquetas de Cabrales are Asturian, not just any cheese croqueta with a strong smell. Cabrales comes from the Picos de Europa, sharp, salty, blue-veined, and alive enough that you use it with respect. A little carries far. The bechamel is what makes it gentle enough to eat in two bites instead of shouting across the table.

The method that decides the dish is the bechamel. Cook the butter, oil, and flour until the raw taste is gone, then add the milk slowly and stir until the paste thickens, shines, and pulls cleanly from the pan. If you stop too soon, the croquetas burst in the oil. If you cook it properly and chill it hard, they hold. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

If you can't find Cabrales, use another Spanish blue such as Valdeón, which is milder and a little less wild, or Picón Bejes-Tresviso if you find it. A good non-Spanish blue will work in a kitchen far from Asturias, but choose one with salt and backbone, not a sweet creamy one. No hace falta haber pisado España, but the cheese has to do its job.

My margin note for these is short: cool the dough, then cool it again after shaping. That is not fuss. That is the difference between a clean croqueta and cheese bechamel escaping into the pan.