- The Thai garlic prawn croquette is one of the most celebrated starters on the 17-course menu at this Zaragoza restaurant, a benchmark for creative cuisine.
- For its chef, Franchesko Vera, croquettes are an infallible clue to how a restaurant cooks.
- In its more than ten years of history, Gamberro has never given up on croquettes: among its most famous are those made with lamb chilindrón, squid in its ink, pigeon with cecina, and even a “dimsuncreta”, a dim sum filled with karashi miso chicken croquette dough.
On 16 January, one of the most popular gastronomic events will be celebrated. We are talking about Croquette Day, a heartfelt tribute to one of the most beloved snacks in our cuisine, which in recent years has made its way into haute cuisine and is now a staple on the menus of the best restaurants. It is, of course, one of the most acclaimed dishes at Restaurante Gamberro (Zaragoza, one Repsol Sun and recommended in the Michelin Guide), which boasts its Thai garlic prawn croquette, a simply perfect snack. So acclaimed by its diners that it cannot fail to be part of its unique 17-course menu (80 euros). When the team has replaced it with another dish, complaints have been swift. That’s why it’s part of their dream team of untouchable starters. Paired with one of the generous wines from their new pairing, it’s a real treat.
Generous, aromatic and eye-catching
Franchesko Vera’s Thai croquette combines garlic prawns, one of the most typical dishes in Spanish cuisine, with coconut milk and various spices closely associated with Thailand. It is quite a laborious dish to prepare due to the silky texture it achieves. To prepare it, a fumet and a prawn praline are made in advance, as well as a fermented fish sauce that adds a lot of flavour. They use meaty prawns and a sofrito with garlic shoots, garlic and spices that gives the croquette its strength. They do not use gelling agents, but instead make the béchamel sauce for almost an hour with a whisk, carefully controlling the temperature. The dough is left to cool for 24 hours so that it takes on body and can be handled well, and is left to rest again once the croquette has been formed. To give it more flavour, chopped garlic and parsley are added to the sofrito. It is served with a striped prawn, previously marinated in seaweed brine, and a dash of blue miso emulsion.
Gamberro and its historic love for different croquettes
Franchesko Vera has been at the helm of Gamberro for ten years and is in love with croquettes, which have always been available at his restaurant and have always been among the most popular dishes. Such as the ternasco al chilindrón, a very Aragonese dish; the calamari in its ink, totally addictive; the “madre”, made with cocido, which is currently served to those allergic to seafood; or the pigeon with cecina. Always imaginative, he remembers two more mischievous versions with particular fondness. One is dimsumcreta, a homemade fried dim sum filled with chicken-karashi su miso croquette dough; the other is mackerel sushi. To make it, they prepared small balls of sushi rice, like little nigiri, which they breaded, fried and served with a slice of cured and smoked mackerel sashimi and a vermouth and piparra gel.
In addition to being a “croquette chef”, Vera is an accomplished croquette consumer, always ordering them on his numerous gastronomic outings. And he is clear: “Croquettes are a fabulous clue to whether you are going to eat well or badly in a restaurant, because in a place where they make them well, it is more than certain that you will eat well. It’s like the trucks outside roadside bars. We serve them as a starter, not only because they are essentially a snack, but because they are a statement of intent,” he asserts.
Gamberro's Thai garlic prawn croquette recipe
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole cow’s milk 1 kg king prawns
- 750 g garlic shoots
- 700 g prawn stock 300 g coconut milk 175 g butter
- 175 g plain flour 140 g fried tomato sauce
- 100 g chopped garlic and parsley
- 100 g powdered coconut milk 75 g prawn praline
- 38 g fresh, peeled ginger
- 30 g fermented fish sauce 15 cloves of garlic
- 5 red chillies
- Half a tablespoon of plain salt Flour and panko for battering
- To serve: striped prawns, seaweed brine, miso emulsion and phycocyanin
Preparation
Clean the prawns, removing the shells and intestines, and cut them into half-centimetre cubes. Clean the garlic shoots and slice them into small discs. Finely chop the garlic, chilli and ginger. Set the three ingredients aside separately.
In a saucepan, boil the cow’s milk with the fish stock, coconut milk, tomato, praline and fish sauce.
Meanwhile, sauté the garlic shoots over a high heat and, when half cooked, add the garlic, chilli and ginger. Finally, add the prawns.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan or shallow casserole dish, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook this roux for 8 minutes over a low heat. Once the flour is cooked, add the garlic shoots and prawn mixture, stir with a whisk for one minute and add the hot liquids all at once.
Whisk continuously over medium heat for 35 minutes. Gradually increase the heat until the dough is finished after a total of 50 minutes. At the last moment, before turning off the heat, add the powdered coconut milk, chopped garlic and parsley, and season with salt. The dough should come away from the sides of the pan.
Cool the dough for 24 hours. After this time, remove 25 g portions and roll into balls. Coat the croquettes with flour, egg and panko. Leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours without covering.
Fry in oil at 190°C for 1 minute and 35 seconds (if you have opted for the recommended weight above).
Finish by topping each croquette with a peeled prawn that has been dipped in seaweed brine, along with a dollop of miso and phycocyanin emulsion.
Source: THE NEWS ROOM