2. Croquetas at Jose, Bermondsey Street, SE1, aka Golden Balls

There are deep fried ham and cheese balls, and there are deep fried ham and cheese balls that move a girl to quote The Bard.*

These perfect golden ham and cheese balls, aka Croquetas de Jamon y Queso, are served at Jose Pizarro's tapas bar, Jose, on Bermondsey Street. 

'A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.'  That's Shakespeare, not me, but I couldn't have summed it up better myself.  Such lightness!  Magnificent.

Apparently the key is partly in Pizarro's use of olive oil instead of butter in the roux.  There's a recipe for ham croquetas in his book, Seasonal Spanish Food.  I challenge anyone to find a croqueta better this side of Seville.


* (A girl who only has a repertoire of four Shakespeare quotes at her immediate disposal.  To be or not to be doesn't go with tapas...)