Spanglish Croquettes a la Marmite & Queso de Cheddar

First of all and despite the name, the traditional Spanish croquettes (‘croquetas’ in Spanish) do not contain potatoes but a filling of white sauce / bechamel.

I managed to get this traditional recipe from one of the locals during a trip to Spain (I hope they don’t find out that I’ve added Marmite to this recipe that has been handed down for generations, lol).

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 60g butter
• 1 small onion
• 60g plain flour
• 2 glasses of whole milk
• Cheddar cheese
• 100g ham
• Salt
• 2 eggs
• 50g fine dried bread crumbs
• 250ml olive oil
• 3 heaped tsp of Marmite XO

Chop the onion into small dice. Heat the butter in the frying pan until melted and add the onion and cook for approximately 5 minutes until soften (not brown). Then add the flour gradually, stirring, until all the oil has been absorbed and the flour appears golden. Stir in the hot milk gradually until the mixture is thick in consistency. Add the grated cheese and a pinch of salt, stir until melted, then add the chopped ham. Finally, stir in three heaped teaspoons of Marmite XO (or original) until the mixture turns marmite-brown.

Put the mixture in a shallow dish and leave to cool for about 2 hours. Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).

Mould the mixture by hand into small rolls. Dip in egg and bread crumbs until covered. Then fry in the olive oil on a medium setting until golden brown on all the sides.

These Marmite bites can be served hot or cold accompanied with salad. In both cases they are deliciosas!