How to make vegetable and cheese croquettes

How to make vegetable and cheese croquettes.

The croquettes are the queens of the kitchen of use and highly appreciated by everyone, or almost everyone.

Perfect for an aperitif or as a single dish with a salad , croquettes are one of the great inventions of Spanish gastronomy.

Each person has their favorites, whether they are those of their mother, those of their grandmother, those of the neighborhood bar, etc … The secret will always be in the béchamel sauce and in making it tasty with your favorite filling.

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About the fillings and flavors, we will tell you that they are infinite. Depending on the imagination and creativity of whoever is in front of the stove, this will be their croquettes .

On the blog we have recipes for varied and all kinds of croquettes . From the  glorious cooked croquettes , the roasted turkey croquettes , the delicious cod croquettes , the original octopus croquettes or some flavorful ham croquettes , to the most daring ones, such as baked croquettes , cheese or shrimp croquettes .  

Today we add one more croquettes recipe to the list, with a vegetable filling that is pure glory . We have used leftover vegetables that we had in the fridge, with a little discretion, and they have been yummy. Do the same for you and this recipe will help you not to throw anything away.

If you have children at home you can involve them in the batter job. You set up a production line and you will see how quickly you have them ready to fry. Also, croquettes are one of the favorite foods of the little ones, so they are sure to be happy to help.

Preparation of the vegetables for the croquettes.

1. Peel and chop the onion finely. Peel and grate the carrot.
2. Heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan and fry both vegetables over medium heat for five minutes.
3. We wash the zucchini and asparagus and chop them finely. We can do it with a knife, but if we use a mincer we will save a lot of work and obtain better results. 
4. Add the zucchini and chopped asparagus to the saucepan, along with a little more oil, and sauté for an additional five minutes over medium heat.

Preparation of the roux and bechamel. Vegetable and cheese croquettes dough

1. We put the vegetables aside and let the oil drain to the opposite side.
2. On it we pour the flour and stir to obtain a roux, that is, the mixture of flour and fat with which the croquettes are made.
3. When the roux has been lightly toasted, stir together with the vegetables to incorporate and start adding the vegetable stock and milk. Little by little and stirring at the same time.
4. The process of preparing the croquettes dough requires patience and time because the dough has to absorb the milk as we add it before adding more. In total, over low heat, the dough must be cooked for about 20 minutes.
5. After this time, add the grated cheese and season to taste. We cook a couple of minutes more so that the cheese is well integrated and remove the mixture to a plate.
6. At this point we can cover the dough with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until the next day.
7. With this we divide the process into two parts and it becomes more bearable. But we can also let the dough cool down completely (about two hours) and form the croquettes next.

Form, coat and fry. Final presentation of the croquettes

1. To form the croquettes we prepare four dishes with everything you need. One with flour, another with beaten egg, another with breadcrumbs and a fourth plate with a little breadcrumb at the base in which to deposit the battered croquettes.
2. To coat the croquettes we take small portions of the dough and roll them, either using two spoons or our hands. The use of one or the other method will depend on the consistency of the dough and the amount of fat it contains.
3. We coat each croquette in flour and put it on the plate with the beaten egg.
4. We remove carefully so that it is well covered with egg on all sides without losing its shape.
5. From the plate with the egg we pass the croquettes to the plate with the breadcrumbs and stir again so that they are well breaded. Otherwise they will open when we fry them, so you have to be a perfectionist in the batter.
6. Once battered, fry the croquettes in a pan with plenty of hot oil. The ideal temperature is 180 ºC. Above it the kibbles can be snatched and broken, underneath they overcook and absorb too much oil.
7. When frying the croquettes we do it little by little so as not to alter the temperature of the oil too much.
8. We remove the croquettes to a plate with absorbent paper to let them drain as much as possible and serve immediately.

You can see all the photos of the step by step in the  recipe for vegetable and cheese croquettes . Do not miss any detail and they will be perfect.

Tips for perfect vegetable and cheese croquettes

• If you are going to leave the croquettes dough in the fridge to coat them the next day, cover them with plastic wrap to avoid crusting and drying on the surface.
• This dough, when carrying cheese, thickens more than normal when cooled. This is an advantage because it greatly facilitates the formation of the croquettes and their filling, when passing through the pan, is creamy when the cheese melts.
• And so that the filling is even creamier and with more cheese flavor, we can add two portioned cheeses to the dough when it is cooking.
• Use the combination of vegetables that you like the most. Take the opportunity to dispose of remains that you have in the fridge, but do it with your head. Try to use vegetables with mild flavors that don’t mask each other.
• You have to be generous with the amount of frying oil because the croquettes have to be completely submerged in it. In this way there is no need to move them and we reduce the risk of them breaking and the interior coming out.
• Once battered, the croquettes freeze great. Place them in a platter, without heaping them, put them in the freezer and when they are very hard you pass them to a plastic bag or a tupper and ready for another day.