The final countdown calls for croquetas.

I have had a fantastic last week in Perthy-town engaging in some serious social activity. Life is pretty bloody sweet here. I will definitely miss my school friends, Bahai pals, uni buddies, the Greenhouse gang, my lovely family and dogs a lot. Tonight I leave on my epic journey to the north. It will take me a ridiculou-so 62 hours to arrive at my first port of call which is Damascus, the capital of Syria. I am seriously naive about Damascus. I know that Syria is in the Middle East. I know that they speak Arabic. That my friends is about the extent of my knowledge.

I shall update you on my knowledge, when my knowledge expands. In the mean time I thought I would share with you a recipe. A recipe for a delightful Spanish tapa named a "croqueta". The croqueta is a deep fried bite sized piece of rich breaded béchamel. It is found at every good Spanish bar, they are irresistibly tasty but because of their richness only one croqueta is needed per person. They can be filled with chicken, fish, spinach the possibilities are infinite. This recipe uses Spanish ham, known by the locals as jamon, pronounced HARRRMON. hahaha.

INGREDIENTS

to serve 4 as a tapas dish

50g butter

2 tsb Spanish olive oil

75g plain flour

300ml milk

salt and pepper

1/2 ts nutmeg preferably freshly grated

50g cheddar cheese grated

2 large slices of Jamon

1 large egg

100g fine breadcrumbs

Melt butter with oil in large pan on low/medium heat.

Stir in 75g flour, a spoonful at a time until you have a thick paste and no more butter to soak up.

Add milk, little by little and stir to eliminate the possibility of lumps forming.

When all the milk is added keep stirring for a couple of minutes to really thicken the mixture.

Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Add, the cheese and nutmeg.

Take off the heat and let the mixture cool.

Stir in the chopped Jamon.

Put the mix in the fridge for an hour to set.

Get 3 bowls: 1 with flour, 1 with the beaten egg and 1 with the fine bread crumbs.

Dust your hands with flour, then a create a frankfurt shaped croqueta with a tablespoon of the chilled mixture.

Deep fry the croquetas in hot veggie oil for 2-3 minutes until golden all over.

Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.