Spanish · Starter
Croque Monsieur
A croqueta whose bechamel never set — reverse spherification holds molten jamón cream inside a crisp panko shell; serve with a warning
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- Whole milk — 300 ml
- Jamón ibérico trimmings — 60 g
- Butter — 15 g
- Fine salt — 2 g
- Calcium lactate gluconate — 6.5 g (2.0% of ham cream)
- Xanthan gum — 0.65 g (0.2%)
- Sodium alginate — 5 g (0.5% bath in 1000 ml water)
- Flour — 50 g
- Eggs, beaten — 2
- Panko — 120 g
Method
- Infuse milk with jamón trimmings at 80 °C for 20 minutes; strain, whisk in butter and salt — you need 320 g liquid.
- Shear in xanthan (0.2%) then calcium lactate gluconate (2.0%); chill 1 h.
- Freeze in 20 mm sphere moulds until solid.
- Bathe frozen spheres in the 0.5% alginate bath 3 minutes at 20 °C; rinse; rest on oiled tray 10 minutes.
- Pané carefully: flour, egg, panko, then egg and panko again (double coat is non-negotiable).
- Freeze breaded spheres 20 minutes to firm the shell interface.
- Fry at 190 °C for 45–60 seconds until deep gold; drain, salt, rest 60 seconds.