Carrot croquettes :: Croquetas de zanahoria

My grandmom used to make the best chicken croquettes ever. I remember her phoning and saying: "hey! today I made croquettes! who' coming to pick them up?" And my mom sent me to my grandmother's right away. 
Once I stayed there watching my grandmom doing the croquettes and My God! It was a lot of work! So, after that, I never tried to make them... but, carrot croquettes are different! Check this out!

Ingredients (14 units)

• 1 big onion (200 gr) 
• 3 carrots (250 gr) 
• 300 ml of milk 
• 50 gr of flour 
• 15 ml of olive oil 
• 1 egg 
• breadcrumbs

Elaboration
Peel and grate the carrots.
Take another container and peel and grate the carrots. For this work I use the simple and cheap grater Idealisk Ikea grater. 
Choose a pan and add the olive oil on medium heat. Add all the grated onion and leave it for 5 minutes to add, after that, the grated carrot. 
Now it's time for the vegetables to sweat for at least 20 minutes (do not be hurry! otherwise it will get roasted but still kind of raw). 
Once the carrot and the onion have sweated you should add the flour and stir the whole mix for 5 minutes.
After that time (you see? not that much!) put away the pan, add the cold milk and stir again. After 2 minutes, put the pan back on the medium heat and do not stop stiring until the bechamel starts disengages from the pan (aproximatly 20 minutes). 

You might think you can change the timming when you feel confortable but this is the most important point of the recipe. Why? because a) if you don't put away the pan when adding the milk the bechamel becomes too liquid and b) if you stop stiring the bechamel will curdle (at least it happened to me)

Stop stiring and add the dough in a crystal container and cover it with plastic wrap to avoid creating a hard layer. 
Press the wrap up to the plastic wrap touches the dough, specially over the edges, to avoid condensation. Leave it to cool down. Once it is cold, put in the fridge.

Now you have got the dough ready to make croquettes when you feel like! You can leave it in the fridge up to 5 days (if it is more, froze it!). But if you crave for croquettes, after 1 hour minimum in the fridge, take out the dough and start. 

Grab a piece of dough (depending how big you want croquettes to be made) and, with your hands, try to make a rectangular structure (it is similar to making nigiris!). 
Dip the croquette in breadcrumbs. Do the same with as many croquettes as you want to make.
Put a quite amount of oil in a saucepan (here I don't use olive oil but sunflower oil) and frie. I like them a little bit roasted but it is up to you ;)

They are sweet and tasty! We love eating them for dinner or as a finger food in our friends' parties :)

Let's 'croquettes' Spanish Kitchenetters!