Croquettes have had ‘dag food’ stamped all over them since they leapt from the pages of 1970s cookbooks to the fast-food freezer shelves of Australia in the late 1990s. However, these golden fried morsels, when freshly made to a traditional recipe, blow the frozen stuff in boxes into cuisine oblivion. Our croquetas are always made fresh and served hot. Their crunchy breadcrumb exterior conceals a smooth velvety texture, which holds the rich flavour of meat or fish. At MoVida we make them with smoked eel, poached chicken or seasoned beef and pork. Prawn and egg are popular too. Croquettes can also be neatly transformed for vegetarians by using the buttery béchamel sauce with garlic chives or mushrooms. Once mastered, the thick béchamel becomes a base that can be played around with by the inquisitive cook.