Serves 6 to 8
• 5 Tbs. butter
• ¾ cup flour
• 2 cups warm milk
• 1 raw egg
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, sieved or finely chopped
• 5 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 Tbs. chopped parsley
• 1½ tsp. salt
• fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of cayenne pepper
• ⅔ cup fine, dry bread crumbs
• flour (about ½ cup)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• bread crumbs (about 1½ cups)
• vegetable oil for deep frying
1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir the flour in gradually until the mixture forms a soft ball and cook it for 3 or 4 minutes more, stirring constantly over very low heat. Add the warm milk, beating it in energetically with a whisk until the sauce is very thick and smooth.
2. Remove it from the heat and beat in the raw egg. Then add the sieved or chopped hard-boiled eggs, the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and enough of the bread crumbs to make a stiff mixture.
3. Form the croquettes by scooping out 1 rounded teaspoonful of the mixture and sliding it off with a second teaspoon into a small bowl of flour. Roll each croquette in flour, dip it in the beaten eggs, and then roll it in bread crumbs. Dip it into the beaten egg again and roll it in the crumbs a second time.
4. Chill the croquettes for about ½ hour, then fry them in deep, hot vegetable oil (without crowding them) until they are golden brown. Drain them on paper towels. The croquettes can be fried ahead of time and reheated in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.
5. Serve the croquettes hot with a thick chutney or on a bed of rice or creamed vegetables.
