Serves 4

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Chilling time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
6 slices of guanciale (cured pork cheek/jowl) or bacon, finely diced
2 eggs
80g dried breadcrumbs
2 litres sunflower oil, for deep-frying
50g parmesan cheese, to garnish

For the béchamel sauce:

40g (3 tbsp) butter
40g pasta flour, preferably Italian ‘type 00’
400ml milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp grated nutmeg

For the truffle cream:

20g (1 ½ tbsp) unsalted butter
2 tbsp truffle oil
½ shallot, chopped
10g fresh black truffle, chopped
200g white (button) mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp white wine

Method

Make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat and mix in the flour. Next, add the milk, salt and nutmeg.

Continue to cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator.

Make the truffle cream. In a deep, heavy frying pan over a medium heat, melt the butter with the truffle oil. Add the chopped shallot and truffle and the sliced mushrooms.

Sauté for 10 minutes before deglazing the pan with the white wine, stirring well with a wooden spatula to dissolve all the caramelized juices.

Cook the béchamel sauce over a low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend in a food processor.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and sear the guanciale for 5 minutes, or until well toasted. Drain on paper towels and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Incorporate the guanciale and truffle cream into the béchamel and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

When the mixture has cooled, wet your hands and shape into roughly 5cm-diameter balls.

Break the eggs into a shallow bowl and lightly beat. Put the breadcrumbs into a second bowl. Dip the croquettes into the beaten egg and dredge in the breadcrumbs.

In a deep fryer or large heavy-based pan, heat the sunflower oil to 165°C, or until bubbles form on the surface. Fry the croquettes for 4–5 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with the parmesan and serve immediately.

Note

Enjoy croquettes any way you like. They can be addictive! Small croquettes make great nibbles to accompany a pre-meal drink, while large ones can be served as an appetizer.

If you’re short on time, you can skip the step for making the truffle cream (only this time though). You can find very good truffle cream at delicatessens (preferably organic with real truffle).

From Big Mamma Cucina Poplare: Contemporary Italian Recipes by Big Mamma (£27.95, Phaidon), out now

3 truffle oil recipes that prove you don’t have to save the luxurious ingredient for a special occasion