Place cold water into a large saucepan and add the potatoes. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil and cook for up to 10 minutes until the point of a knife passes easily through a potato.
600 g potatoes
Drain the potatoes into a colander and then return to the saucepan. Turn off the heat.
Add the milk and butter too the potatoes and mash until everything is combined and the mash is lovely and smooth. If the mash is too dry add a little more milk.
20 g unsalted butter, 2 tbsp milk
Season with salt and ground black pepper, stir and taste. Add more seasoning if needed.
salt, ground black pepper
Place a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat and add the bacon. No need to add oil as the fat in the bacon will render and flavour the bacon even more. Fry for 4 minutes or until lovely and crisp but not cremated. Remove from the pan and place onto kitchen paper to drain excess fat.
6 rashers smoked back bacon
In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed potato, egg yolk, bacon, onion and 30g of the flour(1/3rd) and stir well to fully combine. You are looking for an even spread of the bacon and onion in the mash.
2 large scallions, 1 large egg yolk, 90 g all purpose flour
Scoop a heaped portion out using a tablespoon and push a piece of cheese into the middle. Using your hands shape the mixture into a ball with the cheese on the inside.
100 g cheddar cheese
Place three dishes side by side. I dish 1 add the remaining 60g of flour, in dish 2 add the egg and milk and whisk together and in the third add the breadcrumbs.
90 g all purpose flour, 1 large egg, 30 ml milk, 165 g breadcrumbs
In a production line, gently roll a croquette into the flour and then shake off any excess, then dunk into the egg mixture and finally roll in the breadcrumbs and place on a clean plate ready for frying.
Add enough oil to a deep sided pan to cover the croquettes but no higher than ½ the height of the pan. Turn to a medium high heat and once heated up, carefully add the croquettes in batches. Do not overfill the pan, as the croquettes need space to fry properly.
Oil
Turn the croquettes over during cooking until they are a love golden brown. Remove carefully and cook the next batch.
Allow the cooked croquettes to drain on kitchen paper and they are ready to serve as a starter, side dish, canape and as a surprise in a picnics.