| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 25 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 45 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 20 croquettes |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup diced thinly sliced ham
- 1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 3 small cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 10-ounce box frozen peas
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Freshly ground pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 sleeve saltines (40 crackers), roughly crushed
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour, the cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a dry, stiff mixture, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk to make a smooth paste. Stir until the batter forms a ball, about 3 more minutes.
- Remove from the heat; stir in the ham, cheese and thyme. Spread the mixture evenly into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Cool, then refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 1 day.
- Meanwhile, make the pea sauce: Bring 3 cups water and the garlic to a boil in a saucepan. Add the peas; cook until thawed, 30 seconds. Drain, then transfer the peas and garlic to a blender. Add the broth and lemon zest; puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Heat about 3 inches of oil to 340 degrees in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Place the remaining 1/4 cup flour, the eggs and the saltine crumbs in 3 separate shallow dishes. Cut the chilled dough into 20 4-inch-long croquettes. Dredge each in flour, then dip in the eggs, letting the excess drip off, and roll in the saltines.
- Fry the croquettes in the oil in batches until golden brown. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with salt and serve with the pea sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 20 servings |
| Calories | 203 |
| Total Fat | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 34 mg |
| Sodium | 226 mg |
Reviews
Ham sprinkles of pineapples and cherries on top with a little brown sugar coated yums@seasoned brown beans okrahh four tonight and wingettes
This recipe looks amazing! I was wondering if anyone has had to make these ahead of time and then reheat them? I am bringing these to a party and am afraid that they will not travel well. Can they be reheated in an oven once I get there? Or is it not advisable to make these if they will not be served right away? Thanks in advance for your help!
The croquettes were a big hit….very nice flavors. I made the pea sauce and didn’t care for the blend. It worked much better with homemade Honey Dijon sauce
It was a little messy to make.. and mine came out very different looking than the picture, but overall it was a hit!
These are absolutely delicious! No need for the pea sauce! And make sure to let the croquette mix get nice and cold before you start forming the balls and frying them; its much easier!
WOW!!! These were awsome !! This guy really should have his own show ! Best recipe off of the entire website . The pea sauce went perfect with the croquettes , would have never thought to put those two together . I only wish there were more recipes from Chef Vince .
I made these for my husband as part of our all appetizer New Year’s Eve dinner and we absolutely loved them! The recipe is easy and doesn’t take much time at all, and the results are great! We aren’t huge fans of peas, so I used a good Chardonnay Dijon mustard as a dip instead. In addition, I added more cheese than the recipe called for, and used some gruyere in addition to cheddar. I highly recommend these for any cocktail party! They would be great on game day, too!
Delicious and easy!!! Big hit…and a basic recipe that you can be creative with. For jlepori…READ the recipe and it specifically states “diced thinly sliced ham”…paying attention to detail is critical!!!
This sounds good BUT there are no directions for how the ham is to be added to the other ingredients. I feel sure you don’t add “sliced ham” in the pan with the other ingredients. Is it supposed to be chopped, diced, or ?????
These came out pretty good. The cayenne is prominent, so it might be best to use a bit less if people are sensitive. However, I modified the recipe to make pizza balls and they were even better. I substituted pepperoni and mozarella for the ham and cheddar (and omitted the onion), rolled them into balls instead of sticks and served them with pizza sauce. They were a huge hit with my husband and his friends. Five men consumed more than 80 pizza balls in just under 15 minutes!