Preparation

1. Peel, slice and fry the garlic cloves inside a frying pan with 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain until they are golden. Add the sliced mushrooms and fry until any liquids had evaporated.

2. When the mixture has reduced, add the flour and continue to fry, with constant stirring, until it takes a golden, toasted color.

3. Heat the milk and add it little by little to the mixture, without stoping stirring , until it starts forming a béchamel sauce. The best advice to make a competition-worthy croquette is to really concentrate on the béchamel sauce: the more time you devote to this step, the creamier and smoother it will be (around 15 minutes recommended).

4. Pour the béchamel onto a flat surface and let it get cold before giving shape to the croquettes. A recommendation to stop the béchamel from drying out is to cover it with plastic film. You can shape the croquettes any way you like. The most traditional way is a longish tube shape although they can also be round or square. Whatever the shape you decide on for your croquette, it must have a completely smooth surface so the breadcrumbs will adhere to it perfectly and stop any filling coming out in the pan. One way of ensuring this is to use an ice-cream scoop or a piping bag. It will save you time and the mixture will be compact and smooth.

5. Roll the croquette quickly in the breadcrumbs to set the final shape.

6. Beat two eggs in a shallow dish.

7. Dip each croquette in the egg mixture and shake off any excess, then roll them once again in the breadcrumbs. Pass the croquettes gently from one hand to the other to get rid of any surplus breadcrumbs.

8. And now we’re coming to the grand finale… Fry the croquettes in plenty of Olive Oil from Spain, the star ingredient of this recipe.

9. The first thing you have to do is ‘seal’ the croquettes and to do this it is essential that the oil be very hot. You need to turn them over in the Olive Oil from Spain within the first minute of frying to seal the whole breadcrumb crust. Then lower the heat to medium and keep turning them over, very carefully, to make sure that they are evenly browned.

10. Remove the croquettes from the frying pan and drain them on absorbent paper to remove any excess of oil.