Croque Monsieur – the ultimate ham & cheese sandwich! Recipe

Croque Monsieur is a scorching ham and cheese sandwich, performed the French means! Béchamel sauce, ham, cheese and a smear of Dijon mustard, grilled till it’s oozing, this sandwich is the king of grilled cheeses!

Look away if you happen to’re weight-reduction plan: this recipe requires not one, not two, however THREE several types of cheese. If we’re going to make this, let’s go all the way in which and do it proper! To all of the French readers on the market – let me know the way I did?? 😊

If there may be one factor I believe you possibly can rely on with the French on the subject of cooking, it’s their knack for taking issues up a notch within the grand pursuit of edible bliss. Often – and fairly rightly! – this includes the addition of (extra) butter, (extra) cream, (extra) cheese or just (extra) flavour!

Take the common-or-garden grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Whereas the remainder of the world will slap a bit of ham and cheese between two bits of floppy bread and name it lunch, the French are eating on THIS:

Want additional convincing? I submit the next!

• Paris Mash – The world’s most ridiculously decadent mashed potato;

• Potato Dauphinoise – A easy potato bake, however hit with lashings of cream and cheese!;

• Beef Bourguignon – Arguably the king of all stews, filled with flavours of purple wine, bacon and wealthy, lip-smacking beef inventory!

• French Onion Soup – Who else however the French would insist on standing round stirring onions on the range for an hour to extract most potential flavour?

😂😂😂

Paris Mash (Wealthy Creamy Mashed Potato)

Beef Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy)

Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise)

OK, so I share these ideas in jest! The true origins of Croque Monsieur truly stay largely unknown. Tales vary from French staff who left their lunch packing containers too near a scorching radiator, to a Parisian bistro proprietor who needed to improvise when he ran out of baguettes (arduous to think about in France!)

Whether or not borne of an accident or the thoughts of an ingenious French chef, we will all agree a world with Croque Monsieur in it’s a happier place (although my butt could not agree!)

Right here’s what that you must make Croque Monsieur. Sure, it’s extra than simply bread, ham and cheese – see my opening statements! 😂

1. Bechamel Sauce

For our béchamel sauce, we’d like:

• Cream and milk – You would substitute the cream with extra milk in order for you, however it’s going to scale back the richness of the béchamel! Richness = goodness … 😂;

• Butter and flour – The idea for our roux, which thickens our béchamel sauce; and

• Nutmeg and pepper – A contact of spicing for our béchamel. A touch of nutmeg enhances a béchamel superbly.

2. Croque Monsieur sandwich

And right here’s what we’d like for the remainder of our Croque Monsieur:

• Ham – Ideally smoked (who doesn’t love smoked ham?), however any ham is nice right here.

• Gruyere and Swiss cheese – The principle cheeses! Gruyere is an Alpine cheese from Switzerland. It has a pleasantly candy and nutty flavour, and melts effectively, making it a super alternative for a Croque Monsieur.

  “Swiss cheese” is a generic title for mass-produced cheese made within the type of Alpine cheeses, particularly milder emmental cheese. We use it right here because it conveniently is available in sliced kind for sandwiches, and it’s additionally cheaper than the true stuff.

  Be happy to make use of simply Swiss cheese, or simply gruyere (or different Alpine cheeses, eg. comté , emmental) – or a combination! It’s all as much as your price range, what you might have and what you want. Gruyere, Comté and Emmental are on the pricier finish right here in Australia whereas cheeses offered as “Swiss cheese” are higher worth and have glorious flavour;

• Parmesan – Alpine cheeses are comparatively delicate, so parmesan boosts the savoury oomph and saltiness to only the place we wish it, in addition to giving the highest of the Croque Monsieur a beautiful crusty golden crown;

• Dijon mustard – Excellent in any ham and cheese sandwich, and no exception right here! It brings some welcome tang and one other flavour layer to the sandwich; and

• Butter – For pan-searing our Croque Monsieur in buttery goodness earlier than it’s completed within the oven!

There are a couple of extra steps concerned than slapping a bit of ham and cheese between two items of bread. However consider me, it’s price it. That is no mere snack we’re crafting right here, that is an occasion. That second while you pull this oozing, molten magnificence out of the oven, and take that first chew … it’s really one of the crucial heavenly consuming experiences one can have on this fragile earth!

1. Béchamel sauce

A thick, spreadable Béchamel is used instead of butter to slather on every bit of bread, in addition to slathering the highest piece of bread. Whereas it’s made in the identical means because the cheese sauce for issues like Mac and Cheese, we make it a lot thicker so it may be unfold like butter.

The best Croque Monsieurs truly forego any Béchamel sauce. For me although it’s a vital function that completely makes the Croque Monsieur!

1. Warmth the milk and cream in a saucepan, simply till scorching. This makes it incorporate a lot simpler and extra easily into the flour/butter combination which is very key on this Béchamel Sauce as a result of it’s so thick;

2. Roux – Make the roux by melting butter, then including the flour and cooking it on a low warmth for 3 minutes to cook dinner out the uncooked flour. Don’t let the combination grow to be golden. We would like the Béchamel Sauce to be white;

3. Add scorching milk – Pour in half the recent milk combination whereas stirring continuously (trick to make the Béchamel lump free). As soon as the milk is integrated into the roux, then add the remaining milk combination and blend till mixed; and

4. Thicken – Cook dinner, stirring continuously, till the combination is so thick you could unfold it like peanut butter on bread. It will solely take a minute or so as a result of the ratio of flour to take advantage of on this Béchamel is greater than regular so it’s spreadable moderately than pourable.

   As soon as performed, take it off the range and put aside till required. It’s nice if the Béchamel Sauce cools down. It would grow to be thicker however nonetheless be spreadable, and it’ll warmth up once we pan fry and bake the Croque Monsieur.

2. Meeting

And right here is tips on how to assemble the Croque Monsieur:

1. Slather a slice of untoasted white bread with Béchamel Sauce;

2. Place two items of cheese on prime, folding as wanted to make them match. Then unfold the cheese with Dijon mustard. I do know this appears uncommon to unfold the mustard on the cheese however there’s a very good motive: if you happen to unfold it on the bread, it mixes in with the Béchamel Sauce and you’ll’t style it! Neat, huh? 🙂;

3. Layer on ham after which unfold the ham with extra Dijon mustard;

4. High with one other layer of cheese (sure, you heard me!);

5. Unfold Béchamel on one other piece of bread; and

6. Shut the sandwich.

3. Cooking

We’re on the house stretch! I did forewarn you that there have been a couple of extra steps concerned than a daily grilled cheese or ham sandwich in your lunchbox … and it’s price it!

1. Pan fry sandwich in a skillet utilizing melted butter (naturally – did you count on anything??);

2. Place seared sandwich on a tray and slather the highest with the remaining Béchamel Sauce;

3. Sprinkle with gruyere cheese, then parmesan;

4. Bake for quarter-hour, and at last swap oven to the grill/broiler setting for 3 minutes to get some pretty bronzing on the highest.

Now switch your divine tacky creation to a plate, and dive into it instantly whereas it’s scorching and oozy. Weep with pleasure!

Historically Croque Monsieurs are served at bistros and are the kind of factor you discover as an off-the-cuff lunchtime providing in France, perhaps with a facet salad and fries (as a result of, , there’s not sufficient energy within the Croque Monsieur as it’s!😂).

Outdoors of France, it’s extra frequent to see it on breakfast and brunch menus.

And simply while you thought it wasn’t potential to gild a lily any extra, let me additionally point out the Croque Madame. This can be a standard variation in France that serves at least a sunny-side-up fried egg on prime of an already-obscenely-decadent Croque Monsieur!

Now that seems like an ideal solution to begin a day! 😉 – Johnsat x

Croque Monsieur – the ultimate ham & cheese sandwich! Recipe

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Serves: 2 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 1440 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream (pure or heavy / thickened)
• 1 1/2 tbsp / 25g unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour , plain / all-purpose
• 1/4 tsp salt , kosher/cooking salt
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg , preferably freshly ground
• 4 slices sourdough bread , 1.5cm / ⅗" thick (Note 1)
• 8 slices Swiss or gruyere cheese (165g / 6 oz, enough for 2 layers a sandwich) (Note 2)
• 120g / 4 oz ham slices , preferably smoked
• 4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup gruyere cheese , shredded (packed cup, Note 2)
• 3 tbsp parmesan , finely shredded (Note 2)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
2. Heat milk and cream: Place milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until steaming, but don't let it boil. Set aside.
3. Make roux: Melt butter in a separate small saucepan over medium heat, then turn the heat down to low. Add flour and cook, stirring almost constantly, for 3 minutes. Don't let it brown.
4. Add hot milk: While stirring, add half the milk. Once incorporated into the roux, mix in remaining milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
5. Thicken: Mix for 30 seconds to a minute or until it thickens into a spreadable and soft butter-like consistency (ie. not runny). If you have lumps, whisk until gone. Remove from heat (it is OK if it cools).
6. Spread with Bechamel: Spread half the béchamel over the 4 slices of bread, as though you are buttering them to make normal sandwiches! (Reserve half the béchamel for topping)
7. Cheese + Dijon: Top two pieces of bread with 2 slices of gruyere or Swiss cheese each (fold as needed to make them fit). Then spread the cheese with half the Dijon Mustard (this might sound weird, but see in post for why we do this!).
8. Ham + Dijon: Top with ham, then spread ham with remaining Dijon mustard.
9. Top each of the two slices with 2 more slices of cheese (again, folding as needed), then close sandwiches with the other slices.
10. Melt butter in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Place sandwiches in the skillet, and cook for 2 minutes, pressing down lightly with an egg flip or spatula, until a deep golden brown.
11. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray.
12. Topping: Slather remaining béchamel thickly on the upper pieces of bread. Sprinkle with Gruyere, then parmesan.
13. Bake and broil: Bake 15 minutes, then switch to the grill/broiler for 3 minutes and grill until the top is golden and bubbling.
14. Immediately transfer to warmed serving plates, with knives and fork for serving (it's too messy to eat with hands.) For a traditional French bistro experience, add a side of fries and leafy greens lightly dressed in French Dressing or a basic vinaigrette. Devour and weep with joy! (Over the sandwich that is, not the salad!)

Notes

1. Bread choice – Use a bread with decent heft and structure, not something very soft and delicate like basic square loaf bread, otherwise it won’t hold up to the considerable weight of the fillings!
A sourdough that doesn’t have a very thick or too-chewy crust is ideal (I used Bowan Island sourdough from Harris Farms, in case you are interested!). Otherwise a ciabatta, pane di casa or other stone baked bread will work a treat.
If you only have a soft bread (like said standard sandwich bread), toast it first before assembling, that will help keep it intact. Also consider using two slices of bread (glued with an extra sprinkle of cheese) to form one!
2. Cheese choices – Comte and Emmental are popular choices in France. Here in Sydney they can be harder to come by and rather expensive! Gruyere and Swiss cheese are ideal alternatives – excellent flavour, excellent melting qualities.
While these are the most traditional cheeses for Croque Monsieur you could absolutely make this with any good melting cheese (cheddar, Colby, tasty, Monterey Jack etc) and it will still be insanely good. Give mozzarella a miss in this one, as while it melts well it tends to be quite bland in grilled cheeses.
3. Make ahead – These can be assembled ahead, then tightly wrapped in cling wrap and frozen for 2 to 3 months. Thaw before cooking per recipe.
4. Nutrition per sandwich. (I was scared to do this calculation. It is a lot but I think these values are somewhat exaggerated. Still, diet food this definitely ain’t! Wear loose pants while eating!!😂)

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Sarah Miller

Hi, I’m Sarah Millar!
I’m a food blogger who loves creating quick and easy recipes that bring big flavor without the fuss. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated — and I’m here to share simple, fast food ideas that anyone can make at home. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll usually find me tasting new dishes, exploring cafés, or coming up with fresh food hacks to make everyday meals more fun.

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