Hi Everyone!
I’m back with more tapas. In case you missed it, over the last couple weeks I shared recipes for a very springy and green Spanish tortilla as well as blistered shishitio peppers stuffed with garlicky ground lamb. Today, we’re rounding out the meal with an easy pan con tomate recipe and a (less easy) recipe for croquetas de jamon. With all these recipes all that’s left is to decide between cider or wine, and you’re ready to tapa.
Pan con tomate, the Catalan staple, is one of my favorite ways to use a ripe tomato. The intense umami flavor harnessed from the pulp and seeds of a tomato, highlighted with some really good olive oil and a hint of garlic, can’t be beaten. Traditionally, pan con tomate is toasted coca bread rubbed with garlic and tomato, then finished with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. I find rubbing toasted bread with little cloves of garlic a little cumbersome, so I just grate the garlic into the tomato mixture. This saves a step, and you get the same whisper of garlic throughout.
Pan con tomate is the perfect platform to build a tapas meal if you don’t really feel like cooking. I used to only be able to find good conservas and Spanish meats and cheese at Despana in Soho, but now there are a bunch of places around me where I can just pick up a few cans of octopus or freshly sliced Iberico ham to quickly build a dinner.
If I am in the mood for seafood, I will pick up a few cans of conservas, a variety of tinned or canned fish from Spain and Portugal. In the US, most people associate canned fish with tuna or salmon, but in the Iberian peninsula, only the highest quality seafood makes it into a good conserva. Conservas are made with everything from squid and clams to sea urchins. The best ones are made with seafood caught the day before they are canned to preserve the flavor at its peak. I never serve the conservas in their tins. Instead, I transfer them onto a plate and refresh them with a fresh squeeze of lemon, a light sprinkle of Spanish paprika, and a hearty glug of extra virgin olive oil.
If I am in the mood for a meat and cheese vibe, I spring for a Spanish ham like serrano or Iberico, some meaty olives, pipparas, and a variety of Spanish cheeses. I always get a dry, nutty cheese like a manchego or idiazabal, a mild soft cheese like tetilla or mahon, and then a funkier blue cheese like cabrales or valdeon. A Spanish cheese spread isn’t complete without some Marcona almonds and membrillo, AKA quince paste.
But if I do feel like cooking…
Croquetas are made of breaded and deep-fried bechamel, a sauce made of milk thickened with flour and butter. First, you prepare the bechamel, then you can add various mixins, like corn, cooked chicken, or the traditional addition of ham and cheese, as I have in this recipe. Once the sauce fully cools, the flour helps it set into a thick paste you can form with your hands and coat with the breading. Once fried, it gets crispy on the outside and molten on the inside.
I love croquetas best when they’re practically liquid in the center, but that requires a looser bechamel which can be harder to form, coat, and fry. My recipe uses a ratio of flour to milk that sets up thick enough to handle without freezing, but still gives you a very molten center. If you haven’t fried much, I recommend you increase the flour and butter to 3 tablespoons each for easier frying. Once you get the hang of things, you can reduce the flour and butter to 2 tablespoons each.
We’re setting up a 3-step breading station to coat the bechamel balls. That means you’ll first lightly coat the balls in seasoned flour, then egg wash, and finally finish it in a layer of breadcrumbs. (I prefer the light crunch of panko breadcrumbs, but that’s not traditional. Ultimately you can use whatever you’ve got.)
Here are some tips for easy breading:
Use more flour and crumbs than you will ultimately need, giving you plenty of room to groove.
Beat your eggs thoroughly with water or milk (1 tablespoon per egg) to fully break up the egg white proteins, and ensure you have a very light wash. If you don’t, you’ll end up with an uneven and lumpy coating. (This is where I’ve seen most cooks go wrong!)
Keep every layer thin and light. After coating in flour, toss whatever you’re breading between your hands so excess flour can fall off. Very lightly coat in egg that’s been through whisked with water, then aim for an even layer of crumbs. This prevents your overall breading from becoming too thick. More importantly, if your first layer of flour is too thick, the subsequent layers will fall off during frying, resulting in bald spots and seepage.
If, like me, you’re serving a small household, once breaded, you can freeze the croquetas on a sheet tray. Then once solid, transfer them to a zip-top bag and fry from frozen as needed. These will not work baked in an oven or (gasp) air-fryer. They really need the quick, intense, direct heat only deep frying can provide to get the outside crisp before the insides ooze all over the place.
So cook, or don’t cook, either way you’ll have a delicious tapas party!
Pan con Tomate
serves 4 / active time: 20 minutes / total time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 baguette
3 large beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, ripe
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
kosher salt
Set the oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler. Heat the broiler to high. Use a serrated knife to split the baguette in half lengthwise and broil, cut side up, until dry, crunchy, and lightly charred along the edges, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cut crosswise into 3 to 4 inch pieces.
Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the tomatoes into a medium bowl, making sure to grate until you are left with nothing but the thin tomato skin.
Season the tomato mixture with extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, and a large pinch of salt. Stir until well incorporated and taste. Adjust with more oil, vinegar, or salt as needed.
Assemble the toasted pieces of bread on a plate or platter and generously top each piece with the tomato mixture, drizzle more extra virgin olive on top and serve immediately.
Notes:
The bread traditionally used in Spain for pan con tomate is not accessible in the US. I use baguette because it’s pretty close, but feel free to use any crusty bread. This recipe works better with a stale bread, so it stays crisp even after dressing.
Any leftover grated tomato mixture makes a great dressing for salads (just whisk in more oil, vinegar, and salt) or a quick sauce for pasta (finish with butter and grated parmesan).
Croquetas de Jamon
makes about 20 croquetas / active time: 1 hour / total time: at least 3 hours
INGREDIENTS:
for the filling:
2 tablespoons butter
½ small yellow onion, finely chopped
kosher salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 ounces ham, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
2 ounces Manchego cheese, coarsely grated (½ heaped cup)
for breading & frying:
½ cup all-purpose flour
kosher salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoons water
1 cup breadcrumbs (I prefer panko)
high smoke point fat for frying, like peanut, safflower, or refined coconut oil
Make the filling: In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is foamy, add the onion, pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. And the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly and blonde, about 2 minutes.
Slowly stream in the milk while whisking constantly then simmer, whisking frequently, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the ham and cheese. Taste and add salt if needed.
Scrape the filling into a bowl or container, cover, and put in the fridge to fully cool, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Roll the filling: Once cool, use a cookie scoop or two spoons to divide into 2-tablespoon portions. Roll each portion into a smooth ball, arrange on a small baking tray or plate, and place in the freezer to chill at least 10 minutes.
Bread the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with a big pinch of salt. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg, water, and pinch of salt until thoroughly combined. In a third medium bowl, add the breadcrumbs.
Working with one to two portions of rolled and chilled filling at a time: Coat the ball in flour, gently shaking off any excess, and drop into the egg wash. Use a fork to roll in egg wash to evenly coat, then lift, drain off excess wash, and drop into breadcrumbs. Roll the ball to evenly coat in crumbs and return to small sheet tray or plate. Repeat until all the balls are coated. (At this point, you can freeze the croquetas on the tray, then transfer to a zip top bag and fry as needed from frozen.)
Fry the croquetas: Add enough fat to come 1-inch up the sides of a small or medium skillet or dutch oven. Heat the oil until it registers 375F on a frying/candy thermometer, or when you drop a bit of bread crumb into the oil it vigorously bubbles but doesn’t brown immediately.
Use a slotted spoon to gently lower the croquetas into the oil and fry until golden brown, flipping once to fry both sides, about 1 minute per side. (If frying from frozen, only fry 2 to 4 croquetas at a time to avoid dropping the temperature of the oil.) Transfer to a paper towel lined tray to drain and serve right away.
Notes:
If you’re not very experienced with breading and frying, increase the flour and butter to 3 tablespoons each. This will yield a thicker filling that’s not as molten in the center, but will be easier to bread and less likely to burst while frying. Once you get the hang of it, decrease to 2 tablespoon each flour and butter for a very molten center.
Ingredient Substitutions:
MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE:
Swap the all-purpose flour in the sauce for any cup-for-cup gluten-free all purpose blend. Cook it with the butter for just 10 seconds, then cook with the milk only until simmered and thickened, about 1 minute. (These blends are often made up of starches that will break down from excess cooking, resulting in a thin filling.)
Swap the all-purpose flour and breadcrumbs for any gluten-free alternatives and proceed as usual.
HAM: Swap the ham for finely diced cooked chicken, corn kernels, peas, or chopped cooked chorizo
Pan con Tomate & Croquetas de Jamon
Something I’ve been wondering for a while, every American chef I’ve seen do pan con tomate does this where they grate the tomato on a box grater, but in Spain don’t most people just rub a cut tomato on the crusty bread? The grated tomato gives you a much thicker layer of tomato on top, almost like a bruschetta, where the rubbed tomato is lighter, like a condiment. Do you think it’s a cultural difference, or is it a chef vs home cook thing?
Great recipe, I'm going to try making it this weekend!