Premium French croque monsieur sandwich, Sandwich with roasted ham and Swiss cheese, topped with a béchamel sauce made with butter, flour, milk, nutmeg, Parmesan and Gruyere.
Years ago, a French friend introduced me to croque-monsieur, the French version of a roasted ham and Swiss sandwich.
I remember it being loaded with butter and cheese and absolutely the most delicious sandwich in the world. My friend was kind of addicted to these sandwiches and after eating one myself I could understand why!
The word Croque comes from the verb Croquer or “crunch”. A croque-monsieur roughly translates to “Mister Crunchy”.
The female version, a “croque madame”, has a fried egg on top. This classic French bistro sandwich is a great way to use up leftover ham.
Croque Monsieur ham and cheese sandwich
ingredients
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2 tablespoon unsalted butter
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2 tablespoon all purpose flour
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1 1/2 cups milk
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A pinch each salt, freshly ground pepperNutmeg or more to taste
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1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheesegrated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
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1/4 Cup Grated parmesan cheese (packed up)
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8th slices French or Italian bread bread
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12 ounces hamcut
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1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
method
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Preheat oven to 400°F
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Make the béchamel sauce:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium/low heat until just beginning to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until thick. Remove from stove. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup grated Gruyere. Put aside.
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Toasting bread slices in the oven:
Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400F for a few minutes on each side until lightly toasted. If you like, you can brush a little butter on the bread slices before toasting them for extra flavor.
(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them in a pan and finish on the grill with the béchamel sauce.)
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Create the sandwiches:
Spread half of the toasted slices lightly with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.
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Add béchamel, more Gruyere:
Pour the béchamel sauce onto the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère.
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Roast until bubbly:
Place on a grill pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the grill and grill for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.
Topping this sandwich with a fried egg turns it into one Croque Madame.
Adapted from several recipes including one by About.com’s Debra Weber and Ina Garten.
Links:
Cheesy Gooey Croque Monsieurs by Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats
Cauliflower Croque Monsieur by All Day I Dream About Food
Croque Madame from Alexandra’s kitchen
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 582 | calories |
| 27g | Fat |
| 40g | carbohydrates |
| 43g | protein |
