Croque monsieur

Name: Croque monsieur
Cook time: 37 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Francesa
Ingredients: 25 g Wheat flour; 250 ml Milk; 60 g Butter; 3 tablespoons Olive oil; Salt; Black pepper; 8 slices White bread; 1 pinch Nutmeg; 1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar; 1 u Lettuce; 8 slices Ham; 3 teaspoons Dijon Mustard; 200 g Gruyère

Easy

Contains allergens

Cereales con glutenLeche

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 37 min
Servings: 4

Summary

The grilled ham and cheese sandwich of Parisian cafés: sandwich bread with ham and Gruyère, topped with béchamel and cheese and baked until bubbling. With a green salad, it makes a full meal in half an hour.

Ingredients

4 servings

Add to Bring!

25 g Wheat flour
250 ml Milk (whole)
60 g Butter (25 g for the béchamel, the rest softened for spreading on the bread)
3 tablespoons Olive oil (for the dressing)
Salt (to taste)
Black pepper (freshly ground)
8 slices White bread (sandwich loaf, with a close crumb)
1 pinch Nutmeg (freshly grated)
1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 u Lettuce (or a good bowl of mixed salad leaves)
8 slices Ham (cooked, thinly sliced)
3 teaspoons Dijon Mustard (2 for the sandwiches and 1 for the dressing)
200 g Gruyère (or Emmental, grated (half inside, half on top))

Instructions

Make a thick béchamel: melt 25 g of butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook it gently for a couple of minutes without letting it colour. Gradually pour in the cold milk, whisking constantly, and cook, stirring, until it thickens and no longer tastes floury.
8 min
Off the heat, season the béchamel with salt, pepper and the nutmeg and stir in a handful of the grated cheese. Let it cool slightly: it thickens as it cools and spreads more easily.
5 min
Preheat the oven to 220 °C with the grill on. Spread the slices of bread with the softened butter on one side only, which will be the outside.
5 min
Assemble the sandwiches on the oven tray, buttered side down: spread the inside with a little mustard and a thin layer of béchamel, add two slices of ham and a little cheese, and cover with another slice, buttered side up.
5 min
Bake for a few minutes, turning them halfway, until the bread is golden on both sides.
6 min
Cover each sandwich with a generous layer of béchamel right to the edges and scatter the rest of the cheese on top. Grill until the cheese bubbles and browns in patches. Keep an eye on them: they go from golden to burnt in moments.
5 min
While they grill, whisk the remaining mustard with the vinegar, a pinch of salt and the oil, and dress the lettuce just before serving. Serve the croques straight from the oven with the salad on the side.
3 min

Notes

It first appeared on Paris café menus in the early 20th century and today every brasserie serves it. Top it with a fried egg with a runny yolk and it becomes a croque madame. Thinly sliced cured ham gives a stronger flavour, and some brasseries make it that way. Grate the cheese yourself: ready-grated cheese contains anti-caking agents and melts less well. The béchamel should be thick, almost like pastry cream, so it doesn't soak the bread. You can assemble the sandwiches a few hours ahead and keep them in the fridge, but grill them at the last minute.