Trio of tapas

Croquettes, mini meatballs and baked stuffed cabbage rolls

I've never made tapas before – mainly because it seems fiddly and annoying...I decided to give it a go, seeing as though I have uni work to do and was feeling like procrastinating as much as possible.

This all took quite a bit of time, but was worth it.

The croquettes are like creamy, bechemel- sauce- ridden crispy little nuggets of goodness.

Croquettes

½ cup flour (plus extra for dusting)

1 egg

70g breadcrumbs

50g butter

50g cheese

bacon/ham/prosciutto

300ml milk

oil to fry

salt/pepper

Make a regular rue – melt butter, add flour, cook off flour for about 4 mins, add milk slowly and make a thick paste. Take off heat, cool in fridge for 30 mins. Add bacon etc. and cheese, stir.

Shape mixture into small batons (little logs), and coat in flour first, egg, then breadcrumbs.

Fry (shallow) in oil (sunflower ) for a few mins each until brown. Be VERY careful taking them out of the oil, as they can fall apart easily. Drain on a towel.

Mini Meatballs

300g mince (beef/pork/lamb – your choice)

1 onion

parsley

50g breadcrumbs

1 lemon

1 egg

tomato puree

sugar

Cook mince and onion til brown/cooked. Cool.

Add egg, breadcrumbs and parsley to mixture and mix well. Roll into small balls, place in fridge to set for 30 mins. Fry on high heat for a few mins, then put into an oven tray to bake in the oven for another 20 mins.

Heat puree and sugar, then add to meatballs in oven tray. Serve with squeezed lemon.

Cabbage rolls

½ head cabbage

200g mince

½ cup cooked rice

1 egg yolk

1 onion

Cut the 'v' out of the cabbage bottom – place in boiling water for 5 mins til soft (yeah, the whole ½ cabbage). Take out and cool.

Cook mince, onion til brown. Cool.

Cook rice – absorption of whatever you like. Cool.

Once mixtures are both cool, add egg yolk and mix together well. Salt and pepper.

Carefully take the cabbage leaves off, one by one. Dry well.

Roll the mince up in the leaves – about 2 tablespoons for each leaf – and place in oven tray.

I put some tomato puree on top, left over from the above meatball recipe.

Bake for 25 mins.