In Spain, a common thought is that a restaurant is only as good as its croquettes, and that these little tapa are the yardsticks by which excellence is measured. Inigo Gondra says so anyway. And he should know a good one since he's the owner of The Croquetterie, a catering business that specializes in these Spanish morsels. Anyone who has visited the Spanish food booth at Tower Grove’s Festival of Nations will attest; Gondra’s croquettes sell like hotcakes. “I made over 2,000 and we sold out both days,” he said recently as he was preparing many hundreds more for Taste of St. Louis, along with enough ingredients for 26 3-foot diameter paellas, another of his specialties.
Gondra is from Bilbao and grew up on croquettes. “They were a humble food you could make with inexpensive ingredients,” he explains. Often, in his household, that meant leftover meat, fish or vegetables. But while croquettes may be an essentially simple food, Gondra says they are not that simple to make.
“They depend on the right ratio of flour, oil, butter and milk,” he explains, describing the principle of good béchamel, which makes up Spanish croquettes (as opposed to potato, which is used in Holland). “They need a lot of time; you need to be patient.” After making the béchamel sauce and adding his chosen ingredients, Gombra shapes the croquettes into balls or elongated ovals and refrigerates them overnight. They are then rolled in egg and breadcrumbs, and briskly fried in oil.
In Spain, the finest croquette is made with jamón pata negra, which is cured ham from black Iberico pigs. That delicacy is hard to find here, Gondra says, but he is taking his croquettes to new heights with fillings like shrimp and squid, blood sausage, chorizo, and buffalo.
“My idea is to see what the people of St. Louis like best,” Gondra says, adding that cauliflower, spinach, and bacon croquettes also have been received well. He even makes a version with Indian curry.
All in all, Gondra offers around 20 different varieties, in addition to sandwiches, salads, charcuterie, and other appetizers. He can cook five types of paellas on site for up to 100 hundred people, and also offers Fideuà, a seafood dish similar to paella but with noodles instead of rice.
Gondra sells croquettes at Tower Grove Farmers' Market twice a month. A complete list of his offerings can be found on The Croquetterie website.
Editor's note: Gondra will be at the Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 30, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Tower Grove Park. The first-ever event is a fundraiser for the Tower Grove Farmers' Market and includes live music, kids' activities, 100 local vendors, food and drink trucks, yoga, and more. Admission is $5 per person or $10 per family. Children 14 and under are free.
