Traditional cod croquettes from Marquesa de Parabere

The Marquesa de Parabere says, in her renowned book Enciclopedia Culinaria, la Cocina Completa, that croquettes are a delicacy generally appreciated by everyone. How right she is! And today we bring her recipe to make some homemade cod croquettes, traditional, authentic and very tasty.

One of the advantages of croquettes is that you can use leftover meat, poultry and fish from other preparations, thus becoming a recipe primarily for making use of leftovers. But personally, for cod croquettes, I highly recommend using quality cod. You'll notice it in the taste of the croquettes, without a doubt.

Here is her recipe, I hope you find it as practical as she is: the quantities are not exact, because croquettes are something you really make by eye and will depend on the size of the pieces of meat or fish you have to make more or fewer.

In any case, practice makes perfect, and in very few croquettes you'll be a master of this delicacy. Because this economical recipe is not complicated at all.

To shape the croquettes, discover the croquette tongs, or if you make croquettes in quantity or regularly, you have to see the Millecroquettes

Ingredients

(No quantities are indicated, as they are made in bulk)

• A large piece of cod
• Oil
• Onion
• A clove of garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Milk
• 2 yolks
• Breadcrumbs and beaten egg for breading

Preparation

1. Soak the cod to desalinate it in a bowl with warm water. Dry it with a clean cloth, squeezing with your hands to extract the water well.
2. In a pan, add oil and put in a little onion and a clove of garlic finely chopped. Before they brown, add the cod and fry it well, turning constantly so it doesn't burn.
3. Add chopped parsley and a little flour (around a spoonful, depending on the amount of cod you put).
4. Cook the flour a bit, stirring continuously, and add milk so everything is well soaked (and there's still extra liquid...).
5. Add salt and pepper at the same time and leave on the heat so it reduces and everything becomes well bound and thick. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
6. Add 2 egg yolks (more if you've made a large quantity) and return to the heat. Cook for one minute.
7. To know if the mixture is ready, you should see that when mixed it falls in flakes (the mixture separates into pieces, it doesn't all fall together). If this doesn't happen, it means it still needs to reduce more and you should keep it on the heat for a few more minutes.
8. When the mixture is at the right point (falls in flakes), remove it from the heat, transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool.
9. When the mixture is cold, form the croquettes. Tools such as croquette tongs will be very helpful, or if you make croquettes in quantity or regularly, you should know the Millecroquettes or the De Buyer gun.
10. Once the croquettes are formed, coat them in breadcrumbs, then in beaten egg and again in breadcrumbs, and fry them in the deep fryer with basket in plenty of very hot oil.
11. To keep their shape, use a skimmer to remove them (with tongs you will easily deform them), this will also allow you to drain them well of oil.

Fine mesh skimmer WMF and De Buyer deep fryer with basket

Notes

• It is ideal to fry in an iron pan or iron fryer, because iron reaches a very high temperature, and it will help you achieve the high temperature you require in the oil (and it is a 100% natural pan, free of nonstick coatings that are not suitable for maximum heat).
• A fryer with a basket will help you remove and drain the croquettes without any handling, thus preventing them from deforming and keeping them looking nice. You can see the iron fryers here, but if you don't have one we recommend that you don't use tongs, because you will easily squeeze the croquettes: use a skimmer, with which you can gently lift them out of the oil and drain them easily as well. You will find skimmers at the end of this section.
• The book The Complete Encyclopedia of the Marquesa de Parabere is a gem that deserves the name and all the adjectives it has earned. It is one of those few cookbooks considered gastronomic "bibles", I strongly invite you to see it here.