Ingredients
- 80g butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 100g serrano ham, diced
- 1/2tsp grated nutmeg
- 120g plain flour
- 350ml milk
- 50g grated parmesan
- Salt and black pepper
- TO CRUMB:
- Plain flour
- 3 eggs, mixed with a splash of milk
- 100g breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Place a small pot on a low heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the diced onion, Serrano ham and grated nutmeg and cook for three to four minutes. Then add the flour and cook out for three minutes, stirring well. Increase the heat to medium, add the milk and start whisking to keep the mixture smooth. Allow the mix to slowly come to the boil while whisking regularly. When the mix comes to the boil, lower the heat, but keep stirring it until it thickens (it needs to be very thick), then remove it from the heat.
- Stir in the grated Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, then spoon the mix into a bowl and allow to cool. When cooled, cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge for an hour.
- Place a large rectangular piece of cling film on a counter. Spoon four to five spoons of the mix on, near the base of the cling film, in an even line, leaving space on the cling film either side of the mix. Slowly roll the cling film over the mix, keeping the roll as tight as possible, and roll into an even sausage shape. Tie the ends, set the sausage-shaped mix aside, and continue with a new sheet of cling film until all the mix has been used. Place the rolled mix in the freezer and leave overnight.
- Take the frozen rolled mix out of the freezer and slice into two-inch barrels. Remove all the cling film from the pieces and discard. Set up three bowls; one with the flour in it, one with the egg wash and one with the panko breadcrumbs. Dip the croquettes in the flour, followed by the egg wash, followed by the breadcrumbs. Repeat the process a second time to make sure they are fully coated, then put them on a plate and put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Heat a deep nonstick frying pan and add enough oil to shallow fry. When the oil is hot, carefully place six breadcrumbed croquettes in the oil and cook over a medium heat, turning them every minute so they brown evenly (best cooked in batches of six so they cook evenly and are easy to turn in the pan). Continue frying until they are evenly golden brown all over, about four to five minutes (if they are browning too fast, lower the heat slightly), then remove from the pan, and place on kitchen paper for one minute to drain off excess oil. At this point, place the croquettes in the fridge in preparation for the big day.
- When about to serve, place in the air fryer and air fry at 200 degrees for eight minutes until dark brown and crisp.
