Croque Monsieur
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cups milk
- 1 pinch A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
- 3 oz Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)
- 4 slices of French or Italian loaf bread
- 6 oz ham, sliced
- dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F / 200° C
- Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat.
- Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/8 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.
- Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.
- (Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)
- Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.
- Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese.
- Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.
- If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.