Croquette is a small piece of food, generally passed in egg, breaded and fried and finally served as an appetizer or a side dish. The basic ingredient is often a béchamel, to which different finely chopped or blended elements are incorporated, for example meat or chicken pulp, ham or sausage, cheese or fish. The variations are many. However, there are also croquettes made simply with pureed vegetables - the best known are those based on potatoes - and tied with eggs and cheese. The croquettes can be prepared with ingredients that are already cooked but also raw; in the latter case it is important that the croquettes are of such size and weight that they can be cooked to perfection internally and at the same sime be brown on the outside.