As you will see from my previous post I baked a lovely gammon joint and had some left over and I found this yummy recipe from kitchensanctuary.com. These croquettes were delicious, fa better than any I have had in Tapas restaurants. The cheese is gooey and the ham adds some texture all finished off with the smoky breadcrumbs. It has now given me lots of ideas for filings such as crab and cheese, left over lamb with peas or beef and horseradish. It is a little time consuming but the result really is worth it.

Ingredients (makes 12)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large banana shallot, peeled and chopped finely
• 120g plain (all purpose) flour
• 200ml skimmed milk
• 150g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 200g  shredded gammon or ham hock
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salad to serve
• eggless mustard mayo to serve (recipe here)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the onion and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion softens. Add half the flour and stir using wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Very gradually, pour in the milk whilst stirring with a whisk, until all of the milk is incorporated with no lumps. It should be a thick, paste-like mixture.
2. Stir in the cheddar and ham hock. Turn off the heat.
3. Spoon the mixture into a bowl, and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge to firm up and chill for at least 90 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200c (fan) and line a baking tray with parchment.
5. Add the eggs to a wide bowl and whisk lightly. Add the remaining flour along with the salt and pepper to another bowl. Mix together. Add the panko breadcrumbs to a third bowl. Stir in the paprika, then drizzle over the oil. Mix together using a fork until all of the breadcrumbs are lightly coated in oil.
6. Take the ham mixture out of the fridge. Scoop out a dessert spoon and place in your hand. Roll into the shape of a small thick sausage. Roll in the flour, then the egg (make sure it’s covered in egg), then finally roll in the panko breadcrumbs. Place on the tray and repeat with the rest of the mixture. You should get around 12 croquettes.
7. Place in the oven to cook for 11 minutes – until the coating is lightly golden, and the filling is just starting to ooze out of a few of the croquettes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool and firm up for 2 or 3 minutes.
8. Whilst the croquettes are cooling, add some salad leaves to serving plates and some mayo in some dishes. Serve and Enjoy.