The super croquette is eaten in Santerra

A croquette with a perfect bechamel texture, with a very creamy interior, delicate in the batter, which is eaten in two bites and with a perfect proportion of ham. This is the croquette of the croquetas de Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España, the work of Miguel Carretero, from the Santerra restaurant, which already had the honor of being the champion for the best croquette in 2018. «Winning this award, which is like the Champions of the croquette, is to materialize a dream”, says the champion.

«A technical croquette, with a rich bechamel sauce, with a ham that tastes like ham, that does not distort the flavor and with a batter that is crunchy and non-greasy and that allows the croquette not to open when fried and is enjoyed in the mouth » adds an excited Carter proudly.

And it is not for less, because it was one of the appointments that aroused the most expectation and more than fulfilled it before a devoted public. Emotion until the end and a high level among the six participants who made the jury made up of specialized journalists, renowned chefs, gastronomes and representatives of the food sector enjoy first, with their elaborations, and then suffer, when making the final decision. .

All of them had to do a blind tasting in which they assessed “the batter, the smoothness of the bechamel, the point of salt and the point of intensity of the ham.” The jury first tried the six béchamel sauces -two of them were presented cold, something that they did not like too much- to later try each croquette, which they had to assess with their eyes, nose and mouth, until they found a winner of this award promoted by Joselito.

Miguel Carretero, in the center, with a Joselito ham as a prize for the best croquette. /

Paul Cobos

This recognition has catapulted restaurants throughout the country and has contributed to raising the average level of an old recipe that is now considered haute cuisine, such as the croquette. “We have improved the croquette with which we won four years ago,” acknowledges Miguel. “We were finding some errors in our opinion and we were making corrections looking for the maximum how to change proportions of fat, put the ham at a specific temperature, and some more that I will not tell you,” confesses the king of the croquette with a laugh.

And it is that the award receives more merit for having had to overcome rivals of a high level such as Diego Fernández, from the Regueiro restaurant; Jesús Segura, from the Trivio restaurant; Nacho Solana, from the Solana restaurant; Alberto García Escudero, from the Iván Cerdeño restaurant; and Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo, from the Cañitas Maite restaurant. «Already being among these croquette greats was a prize for me, but having managed to win is the best». And of the finalists there was one that also won a prize: the Croqueta de Oro. The chef from Toledo, Ivan Cerdeño, who has just received his second Michelin star, was awarded this recognition for the successive times in which a recipe of his has reached triumph in the hands of one of his disciples.