Restaurant Sal Café, at the Barceloneta Beach, is specialized in Spanish and fusion cuisine. There are few plates in our gastronomy that are as typical as the croquettes.
In this article you’ll learn about the origin of the recipe, as well as many other curious facts. We’re sure you’ll be surprised.
French origin of a very Spanish plate
Although croquettes are a typical Spanish dish, its origin is found in neighboring France at the Louis XIV’s court.
The very origin of the word croquette is eminently French, since it derives from croquer, the onomatopoeia of creaking in French. From there derives croquette (croquette in French) and the Spanish word croqueta.
The first reference of croquettes is dated in 1817, when Antonin Carême, French chef of the court of Louis XVI, offered it at a banquet for the prince regent of England and the Archduke of Russia. It is not until 1846 that this dish is then recorded in Spain.
Croquettes: a simple recipe with many variations
Preparing croquettes is as simple as preparing bechamel coated with a thick and crunchy layer of batter.
The great taste lies in the the simplicity of this recipe, but we all know it is not easy to prepare authentic croquettes. There are many tricks (the density of the bechamel, the batter technique, the temperature of the oil when frying…) that all chefs keep secret, passed over many times from generation to generation.
To introduce flavor in our croquettes, we will only have to add our favorite ingredients to the bechamel before batting it.
Today we can find croquettes prepared with any ingredient, but the most classic are ham croquettes and chicken croquettes.
The Restaurant Sal Café specializes in croquettes at the Barceloneta Beach
At Restaurant Sal Café we offer a spectacular array of croquettes in our menu.
These are the main ones:
- Garlic shrimp croquettes
- Cheese croquettes
- Free range chicken croquettes
- Iberian ham croquettes
All of them are handmade and prepared daily, so that you can enjoy the experience of authentic homemade croquettes with the best views from our terrace in Barceloneta.
Would you like to try them? Book your table now and don’t miss out!