Air Fryer
Serrano ham and chicken croquettes
Prepare the mixture in advance, then just a few minutes frying is all it takes for a delicious light meal of hot crisp croquettes served with sharp, crunchy tuna salad.
Ingredients:
- 90g/3½oz butter
- 50g/2oz thinly sliced spanish air-dried serrano ham, roughly chopped
- 110g/4oz flour, plus 75g/3oz extra for coating
- 500ml/18floz full-fat milk
- 75g/3oz cooked chicken breast meat
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 free-range egg, hard-boiled, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 200g/7oz fresh white breadcrumbs, made from crustless day-old bread left out overnight
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 1 head of crunchy lettuce, such as little gem, romaine or continental
- 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges or sliced
- 4 spring onions or salad onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 8 spears canned or jarred asparagus, drained
- 1 x 200g/7oz can or jar of tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt, to taste
- 2 free-range eggs, hard-boiled, quartered
- 16 green olives
Directions:
- For the croquettes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the ham and leave to cook gently for a minute or two to soften.
- Stir in 110g/4oz of the flour and cook for one minute, then very gradually stir in the milk, a little at a time, beating really well between each addition so that the mixture becomes silky smooth.
- Increase the heat slightly, bring to the boil, and leave to cook gently, whisking constantly, for five minutes, to cook out the flour.
- Stir in the chicken and one teaspoon of salt, or to taste, then stir in the hard-boiled egg.
- Scrape the mixture into a bowl, press a sheet of cling film onto the surface, and chill in the fridge, for at least six hours but ideally overnight, until really firm.
- When you are ready to make the croquettes, lightly flour the palms of your hands and for each croquette shape 1½ tablespoons of the chilled mixture into a ball, and then roll into a cork-shaped barrel. You should make about 24 croquettes. Refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile for the salad, remove and discard the outer leaves of the lettuce if necessary. Break the remainder into approximately 7cm/3in pieces, wash and dry well, in a salad spinner if you have one.
- Spread the leaves over four medium-sized plates and arrange the tomatoes, onion and asparagus on top.
- Scatter the flaked tuna over the centre of each plate.
- Whisk the red wine vinegar and olive oil together with the salt to taste and drizzle over the salads.
- Garnish with the hard-boiled eggs and green olives.
- Heat some oil for deep-frying to 190C/375F. (Caution: hot oil can be dangerous. Never leave unattended.)
- Put the remaining 75g/3oz flour, egg and breadcrumbs into three separate shallow trays or bowls.
- Take the croquettes from the fridge and dip them four or five at a time into the flour, then the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Lower them into the hot oil and cook for not quite two minutes until crisp and lightly golden-brown. You can tell when they are done because as they cook they begin to make a different noise in the fryer.
- Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside on plenty of kitchen paper to drain briefly. Serve while they are still hot.
- To serve, pile the hot croquettes straight onto a plate with a spoonful of salad alongside.