• 225–275 g/8–10 oz cooked chicken, lamb or bacon
• 1 small onion
• 25 g/1 oz butter
• 25 g/1 oz flour
• 1.5 dl/¼ pint chicken stock or milk
• salt and freshly milled pepper
• 50 g/2 oz hard cheese, grated.
• 1 egg
• toasted breadcrumbs
• oil for deep-frying

Remove any skin or fat and mince the cold meat. Peel and finely chop the onion. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion. Cover and fry gently for 5 minutes or until the onion is tender but not brown. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes, then stir in the stock. Bring up to the boil, stirring all the time to make a very thick sauce. Season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the grated cheese. Draw the pan off the heat and beat very thoroughly to get a smooth mixture. Add the minced meat and mix well.

Separate the egg and stir the yolk into the mixture, reserving the white for coating the croquettes. Cover the pan and set the mixture aside until quite cold.

Take tablespoons of the mixture and with wetted hands roll each spoonful into a ball. First coat each one in the lightly mixed egg white and then roll in toasted breadcrumbs. Deep-fry in hot oil for about 5 minutes until brown, then serve.