Hammy Cheesy Croquettes

Little crunchy, gooey things with salty chunks of ham inside. Served with a speedy aioli to dip them in. So banging.

15 Mins + 2 Hours Fridge Time

Ingredients

(Should make 10 Croquettes)
250g Cooked Ham (Cold bacon lardons will also work)
200g Mature Cheddar Cheese
150g Gruyère Cheese
Salt & Pepper
200g Plain White Flour
Half Tablespoon Knob of Butter
100-200ml Milk
Half Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Half Teaspoon Oregano
Half Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Half Teaspoon Paprika or Smoked Paprika
2 Eggs, Whisked
150-200g Breadcrumbs (Preferably Panko)
Enough Vegetable Oil to half fill a medium sized pan (Buy a bottle)
2 Tablespoons Mayo
Juice of Half a Lemon
One small clove of Garlic

Ingredients

Instructions

Slice your ham into chunks. Small chunks. Grate your cheeses so they're ready to go in your sauce. Make a roux by melting a knob of butter and then whisking in a spoonful of flour. It might look a bit weird and gooey but keep whisking. Gradually whisk in your milk until its looking like a thick-ish silky sauce. At this point you can whisk in your cheese until it's all melted.
Stir in your cayenne, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, and paprika. Then you can mix in your hammy bits. Pop it in a bowl to refrigerate and harden for 1-2 hours.
Get yourself three bowls. One with flour, one with your two whisked eggs and another filled with breadcrumbs. Use a spoon to scoop out some of your cheesy mixture. It will be nice and cold so you can shape it into a little sausage. You don't want them too big. Little sausages. Think cocktail sausages, maybe a little thicker. Cover it in flour, bash off the excess, straight into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Make sure each croquette is properly covered. At this stage you can set them all aside to fry when they're all ready. Keep going until you're out of mixture.
Half fill a saucepan with vegetable oil and get it nice and hot, medium heat is best as you don't want it TOO hot. Drop a little breadcrumb in and if it bubbles you're good to go. Fry in batches of one or two croquettes as you don't want to overcrowd the pan. This will fuck your snack time right up. Set aside on a cooling rack or just a plate or something when they've been frying for about 1-2 minutes. They should be a nice golden colour. Keep going until you've done all your croquettes and have a big smile on your face.
I like to use the small side of my grater to very finely grate a small clove of garlic. So if you can do that, do that. Mix it in with your mayo and your lemon juice. That's your dipping aioli. Serve up, dig in and enjoy. These really are lovely. You can use anything you want in them really, add mushrooms, onions, it will always be delicious.