You can find Spanish a plate of croquetas in almost any restaurant or bar, each made to the establishment’s own  – sometimes secret – recipe, combining ingredients such as jamon (cured ham) or bacalao (Atlantic cod fish) with béchamel sauce, which is then breaded and fried. The creamy cheese (queso) croquettes pack a smooth flavour, or try the croquettes of local sweet-spiced black sausage (morcilla) or Spanish blue cheese (queso de Cabrales) for unique Spanish flavours.

Croquetas with mushrooms
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INGREDIENTS:    ​
1 litre of full cream milk
15 gr. of dried mushrooms (use any commercial mushroom mix)
½  onion
3 tablespoon of flour
100 gr. Of butter
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
2 Eggs, beaten
Breadcrumbs to coat

​METHOD:
For this kind of croquetas, you don't make a bechamel roux of butter and flour, but incorporate the flour to the sautéed mushrooms, and then, little by little, we will be adding milk until getting a slightly thickened béchamel.

1. Just cover the dried mushrooms with almost boiling water and leave for about 20 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess moisture.
   
2. Finely chop half an onion.
3. In a large frypan, melt the butter and sauté the onion and mushrooms for about three or four minutes. Season and lower the heat to low then add the flour all at once.
   
4. With a wooden spoon, thoroughly incorporate the flour with the onions and mushrooms, forming a kind of sticky paste. Stir until the dough begins to turn brown.
5. Slowly add milk, stirring continuously until the paste has completely dissolved into a a soft dough. This may take about 15 minutes. 
6. Add a touch of nutmeg and turn off the heat, stirring to incorporate.
7. Turn the dough onto a plate and let it cool and set.
   
8. Take dessertspoons of the mushroom dough and roll into croquette shapes, then dip in the beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs.
   
9. Deep-fry the croquetas in hot olive oil, drain on paper towel and serve immediately.