Croquetas de Jamón Madrileñas

Croquetas de jamón madrileñas are taberna cooking from Madrid at its plainest and best: cured jamón folded through a thick bechamel, chilled until it can be shaped, then breaded and fried so the outside is crisp and the inside turns soft and spoonable. They are not little potato cakes, and they are not a place to hide poor ham. The ham is the dish's name, so let it taste of ham.

The method that decides them is the bechamel. Cook the flour in the butter and oil until it loses its raw smell, then add warm milk little by little and keep stirring until the paste pulls cleanly from the pan. That slow cook is what gives you a filling that sets in the fridge and melts in the fryer. Rush it and you get either floury paste or sauce that leaks. Neither is a croqueta. Pésalo, no lo adivines.

If you are far from Madrid, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use the best dry-cured ham you can find, ideally jamón serrano. Prosciutto works at a pinch, but it is sweeter and softer, so chop it fine and use a little less salt. Chill the dough well, bread it twice if your kitchen is warm, and fry in small batches. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.