ETHNIC COOK : As Easy as Rolling a Cigar

Havana-born Carmen Sanchez Sadek makes wonderful croquetas-- breaded, deep-fried beef croquettes. They’re all meat, not filled out with mashed potatoes like those you find in Cuban restaurants in this country.

By doing things the right way, Sadek upholds a distinguished culinary heritage. Her mother and two aunts founded the Instituto San Miguel de Arte Culinario, once a leading Cuban cooking school. Aunt Carmencita San Miguel, an early-day dietitian, promoted the concept of nutritionally balanced meals. Now 76, San Miguel is still at work, writing a cookery column for the newspaper Diario de Las Americas in Miami and broadcasting cooking tips.

The croquetas, however, came from another source--Sadek’s grandmother, Carmen Pages de San Miguel. The ingredients are straightforward; it’s the method that presents the challenge. The procedure is tricky, like the art of rolling a cigar. “You really have to know how to do it. Otherwise it just falls apart,” Sadek says.

To keep that from happening, she describes the method in detail. The croquetas should be formed with the palms of the hands, not the fingers, and carefully breaded with a minimum of handling. “Once you get used to it, it’s very easy to do,” she says.

Sadek, an educational consultant who lives near Mar Vista, serves the croquetas as a main dish with black beans, rice, fried plantains and a butter lettuce salad. For dessert, she would offer guava paste or canned guava shells with cream cheese, followed by strong Cuban espresso.

When relatives visit, Sadek gets out her treasured recipes--the old Instituto cookbook and her aunt’s writings--and prepares elaborate spreads, recapturing the flavors of long ago.

CROQUETAS DE MI ABUELITA (My Grandmother’s Croquettes)

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef

1 1/2 large white onions, finely chopped

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

Salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 (9-ounce) box seasoned bread crumbs

2 to 3 eggs

Garlic powder

Black pepper

Oil for deep frying

In large skillet over high heat, cook meat and onions, stirring constantly to crumble meat. Cook until all moisture from onions has evaporated. No liquid should be visible as meat is pulled back to expose bottom of pan. Reduce heat. Sprinkle flour over meat and mix well. Add milk and stir until well blended. Add lemon juice, blending until mixture is pasty. Season to taste with salt and nutmeg.

Spread mixture on jellyroll pan and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes.

Place some crumbs in layer on another large pan. When meat mixture is completely cooled, mark 2-inch squares on surface. Lift 1 square of meat and, using palms of hands, shape into roll 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. Place on bread crumbs. Shape all meat squares in same fashion and place in single layer on bread crumbs. Wash hands to remove any sticky meat mixture.

Pour more bread crumbs over croquetas. Again using only palms of hands, lift each croqueta along with mound of bread crumbs so as not to touch meat mixture. Cover entire croqueta with crumbs by tossing it gently from palm to palm, letting extra crumbs fall over pan of croquetas. Fingers should never touch meat mixture as croquetas are formed and fried.

Place breaded croquetas on wood cutting board or on counter lined with brown paper. Beat eggs in shallow dish. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Carefully place each croqueta in egg mixture. With fork, turn croqueta until completely covered with egg. Lift with fork, wiping excess egg from fork with edge of dish, and gently place back on bread crumb bed. With palms of hands, sweep bread crumbs around and over croqueta until completely covered. Pick up croqueta with palms of hands along with extra crumbs. Gently toss croqueta from palm to palm to shake off excess crumbs. Return to wood board or brown paper and continue with remaining croquetas.

When all croquetas are completely breaded, fry in very hot oil 1/2 inch deep. Turn with slotted spatula as soon as croqueta is placed in skillet. Fry until breading is golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Makes about 36 croquetas or 6 to 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

524 calories; 968 mg sodium; 157 mg cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 31 grams protein; 0.43 grams fiber; 50% calories from fat.