Deep fried croquettes with cheese fillings are addictive. When you get them fresh from the oven, both adults and kids will love them from their crispy exterior, meaty fillings, and cheese-filled centre that will Oozeeeeeee when you bite into them.
These Perfect Italiano Ham & Cheese Croquettes are perfect for starters before a dinner party, or as an afternoon snack with iced tea. Ahh…
The benefit of making your own croquettes: You can add any ingredients, create your own sizes, and modify the shapes.
All in the name of fun (and love), I made some heart-shaped ham & cheese croquettes. (These are for my mum.)
Prep 15 Mins, Cook 10 Mins, Serves 2-4
Ingredients for Perfect Italiano Ham & Cheese Croquettes
– 100 g corn bits
– 100 g honey baked ham
– Extra minced meat eg chicken (optional).
– 1 ½ cup breadcrumbs
– 75 g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella cheese
– 75 g Perfect Italiano Parmesan cheese
– Salt & pepper to taste
– 1 egg, beaten
– Extra breadcrumbs for coating
– Cooking oil
Steps for Perfect Italiano Ham & Cheese Croquettes
1. Pinch Perfect Italiano Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses together into 1 cm-diameter balls.
2. Blitz or finely chop ham, corn, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper together together until you get a paste texture. (Note: I modified the original recipe and added some minced chicken.)
3. Adjust with more breadcrumbs if mixture is too moist.
4. Take about 1 ½ tbsps of paste and flatten with both palms.
5. Place 1-cm cheese ball into the centre and gently fold and enclose by rolling it smoothly between the palms to form a 4-cm diameter ball.
6. (Optional) Use a heart-shaped mould to create shapes for the meat croquettes.
7. Coat balls with beaten egg, followed by crumbs.
9. In hot pan, pan fry croquettes until nicely browned.
Bite into the croquette (careful!) and see the cheese ooze out.
Feel free to explore and experiment with different ingredients such as mashed potato and ground meat (beef, chicken or turkey), dipped with sauces such as ketchup and mayonnaise.
Adding Perfect Italiano Mozzarella will provide that cheesy stretch when it melts with the heat (also perfect for lasagne and toasties), and including Perfect Italiano Parmesan which is being matured for up to 18 months would provide a bold flavour. You can also sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of the croquettes for added taste.
For more easy to follow recipes, you can go to Perfect Italiano’s
website http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/recipes. Do instagram them, hashtag your food creations with #perfectitalianosg, and let me know see what you create!
* This entry is brought to you by Perfect Italiano. The Perfect Italiano cheeses are available at leading supermarkets. For more recipes and videos, visit the Perfect Italiano website at http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/recipes
