- 115 g butter
- 215 g plain flour
- 450 ml milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 125 g block mozzarella, grated
- 100 g gruyère cheese, grated
- 100 g cooked ham, very finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 100 g very fine, dry breadcrumbs
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
2. Pour the milk into a saucepan, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Whisk in the roux, a little at a time, until it is well blended. Simmer until the mixture thickens and forms a smooth white sauce.
3. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool a little. Stir in the egg yolks, both cheeses, the ham and chives and allow to cool completely, when the mixture will become putty-like.
4. To prepare the coating, put the remaining 100g flour on a plate or in a bowl and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and put the breadcrumbs on another plate or in a bowl.
5. Mould the cooled sauce into about 30 sausage shapes or round balls. Toss each one in flour, dip in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.
6. Fill a deep-fat fryer with sunflower oil and heat to 170C. (If the oil is any hotter, the filling tends to leak out.) The cheese balls can also be shallow-fried: pour the oil into a deep, medium saucepan to a depth of 2cm and heat to 170C, checking the temperature with a thermometer (see Cook’s Tips). When the oil is at the right temperature, deep-fry the cheese balls in small batches for about 8 minutes, turning them a few times in the oil until rich golden in colour. Drain on kitchen paper.
7. Serve immediately, with tomato relish.