Pea & Saint Agur Blue Cheese Croquettes

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By Raymond Blanc

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This is a delicious canapé to wow your guests, created by top chef Raymond Blanc.

The hint of cumin adds a little spice and warmth to the mixture, and the Saint Agur blue cheese brings richness and slight acidity for a lovely balance.

Preparation time: 30min (plus 1 hour chilling)
Cooking time: 8min
Makes: 30 approx

Ingredients:

For the croquettes

• 220g frozen peas, defrosted
• 80ml water
• 55g gram flour (chickpea flour)
• 10ml olive oil
• 2g cumin
• 4g sea salt
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• 100g frozen peas, defrosted, roughly chopped in a food processor
• 100g broad beans, roughly chopped in a food processor
• 3g fresh mint, chopped
• 100g Saint Agur blue cheese, crumbled

For the breadcrumb coating

• 50g plain flour
• 2 eggs, medium, organic/free-range, beaten
• 50g panko breadcrumbs

For the Saint Agur purée

• 100g Saint Agur blue cheese crème
• 25g crème fraîche
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

To Make:

For the croquettes

1. Blend peas and water together in a blender until smooth. Add gram flour, olive oil, cumin, salt and lemon juice and blend until smooth.
2. Place the mixture in a heavy-based saucepan, on a medium heat, and cook for 2-3min until it begins to thicken. Mix in the chopped peas, chopped broad beans, mint and crumbled Saint Agur blue cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Place mixture onto a piece of cling film. Roll into a long sausage shape, approx 3cm diameter. Wrap cling film around 3 times so that it holds its shape. Tie a knot at each end to ensure it is wrapped tightly.
4. Cool in the fridge for 1 hour until fully set. Once cooled, unwrap and cut the mixture into 20g pieces.
5. Shape into small patties and set aside in the fridge.

For the breadcrumb coating

1. Place the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs into separate bowls.
2. First, roll each croquette in the flour and dust off any excess.
3. Then, dip each croquette in the beaten egg (no more than 5 at a time), followed by rolling each in the breadcrumbs.
4. With clean hands, re-shape the croquettes if required and place them onto a clean tray lined with greaseproof paper.
5. Place the tray in the fridge until required (*1).

For the Saint Agur purée

1. In a medium bowl, mix all the purée ingredients together.
2. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
3. Reserve in the fridge until required.

To cook the croquettes

1. Preheat your fryer to 180°C. Cook the croquettes in batches of 10 (adjust batch size depending on the size of your fryer) for 1min until golden brown on the outside and hot in the middle.
2. Serve the croquettes immediately, topped with the Saint Agur purée.

Raymond’s note: If you wish to cook the croquettes at a later date, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Cook from frozen in the fryer for 2-3min until hot in the middle.