Camembert Croquettes
These make a
delicious first course if you're entertaining, or would serve you well as a light,
summery lunch. Either way, they're excellent surrounded by crisp, dressed salad
leaves or on a bed of tomato
salad with fresh basil.
Ripe Camembert is
essential for this recipe, so plan ahead and buy a Camembert which will be ready to use roughly on
its sell-by date. I keep mine in the garage or in the boot of a car, which is
cool enough in the winter, though you have to warn people about the smell.
Serves : 6 as a Starter
Ingredients:
1 x 250g
Round, Ripe Camembert,
chilled
1 Small Carrot
½ Small Onion
½ Stick Celery
10floz / 275ml Milk
Pinch or Blade of Mace
1 Bay Leaf
6 Peppercorns
1½oz / 40g Butter
2oz / 55g Plain Flour
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten with
2 tbsp Milk
6oz / 175g Fine White Breadcrumbs
1 Level tbsp Seasoned Flour
Groundnut Oil for frying and greasing
Instructions:
1.
First of
all peel and chop the vegetables and place them in a saucepan with the milk, mace, bay leaf and peppercorns.
2.
Bring
everything up to simmering point, then turn the heat off and leave to infuse
for 30 minutes.
3.
After
that, strain the milk
into a jug, using a sieve and pressing the vegetables with the back of a spoon
to extract all the juices.
4.
Now rinse
and dry the saucepan and, over a medium heat, melt the butter in it, then add
the flour and, using
a wooden spoon, stir briskly until the mixture has turned a pale straw colour.
5.
Now add
the milk a little at a
time and switch to a balloon whisk, whisking vigorously after each addition
until you have a very thick, glossy mixture.
6.
Now take
the pan off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
7.
While the
mixture is cooling you can deal with the cheese – although it
needs to be ripe, if it's chilled, it makes life a lot easier. So all you do is
cut the cheese in
half and, using a teaspoon, scoop out all the cheese from the
inside, scraping as much cheese away from the
skin as possible.
8.
After
that, add the cheese
to the sauce mix and give it all a really good mix to combine it as thoroughly
as possible.
9.
Then leave
it aside for 10 minutes or so to cool.
10.
Now you
can prepare the ramekins. The easiest way to do this is to lightly oil each
one, then take pieces of clingfilm about 8 inch /
20cm long and lay them across the centre of each ramekin.
11.
Then,
using a clean pastry brush, push the clingfilm into
the ramekin all round the edges – it doesn't matter if it creases.
12.
Now divide
the cheese mixture between the ramekins, pressing it in evenly, and fold the
surplus clingfilm over the top.
13.
Smooth it
out, then place the ramekins in the fridge for several
hours, but preferably overnight, before cooking.
14.
Before you
cook the croquettes, you can put the egg and breadcrumbs on in
advance, provided after that you keep them well chilled.
15.
Sprinkle
the seasoned flour on
to a piece of greaseproof paper, then beat the eggs and milk together and spread
the breadcrumbs
out on a plate. Also, have another flat plate to hand.
16.
Now all
you do is unfold the clingfilm and flip each
croquette on to the flour
and lightly coat it on all sides.
17.
Next dip
it into the beaten egg
and then the breadcrumbs,
shaking off any surplus.
18.
Now return
it to the egg and then
back again to the breadcrumbs.
This double coating gives good protection while the croquettes are cooking.
19.
When they
are all coated, put them on the flat plate and return them to the fridge,
uncovered.
20.
Then, when
you're ready to cook them, have some crumpled kitchen paper spread out on a
plate and then heat up just enough groundnut oil to cover the
base of a solid frying pan.
21.
The oil needs to be really
hot, so test it by dropping in a little cube of bread, and if it turns golden in
30 seconds the oil is
ready.
22.
Now fry
the croquettes for about two minutes on each side and transfer them to kitchen
paper to drain while you fry the rest. You need to take some care here not to overcook
them – it's okay for little bits to ooze out of the sides, but if you leave
them in too long, they tend to collapse.
23.
Serve as
soon as possible after they are cooked.
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