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Buttery Croque Monsieur

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Buttery Croque Monsieur

Sometimes, you just can't beat those good old, classic combinations. Take ham and cheese: it's one of those marriages made in culinary heaven, and although the pair can be teamed in a number of ways, the croque monsieur must surely be the king of them all. This one is a true Parisian version: salty slices of ham with a sumptuous, oozing Gruyère bechamel, with a little mustard in the mix to add a lovely, sharp tang. All this loveliness is sandwiched between slices of buttery bread, fried to retain to retain the all-important crunch. Sure, you could toast them, but for proper indulgence, you shouldn't wimp out. You should use butter, too, which imbues the bread with a slightly nutty taste. Eat your croque hot and bubbling, to best appreciate its rich, molten centre.

Preparation time:
10 minutes
Cooking time:
10 minutes
Total time:
20 minutes 20 minutes
Serves:
 2

Ingredients

  • 50g butter, really softened
  • 4 thick slices white bread
  • 1 heaped tsp plain flour
  • 5 tbsp whole milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 75g Gruyère, grated
  • 4 slices oak-smoked gammon ham or a similar ham

Method

  1. Butter all four slices of bread with half the butter and place them on a chopping board with the buttery sides down. Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the flour. Stir them together until they are blended, then add the milk gradually until the mixture has become smooth and thick enough to spread. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the egg yolk, the mustard and the grated Gruyère, then beat the sauce until the cheese has melted.
  2. Spread the Gruyère mixture over 2 unbuttered sides of the bread. Fold 2 slices of ham and place onto one of the cheese-topped slices; repeat with the other slices of ham and the remaining cheesy slice of bread. Take the other slices of bread and place one on each of the cheese-and-ham-topped slices. Press them down lightly. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the sandwiches for 3 minutes on each side until they have turned golden and crisp. Remove them from the pan, cut into diagonal halves and serve immediately.

Comments and images

Average user rating 4 stars out of 5

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sukik

sukik 04 September 2008 13:52

I still had a little Mornay sauce and grated cheese left over once I had made up the croques, so after frying them I spooned a little mornay on the top and sprinkled on some grated gruyere then popped the whole frying pan under the grill for less than a minute. It made the croques look just like the real thing from France

winipeg

winipeg 18 June 2008 13:51

Ordered this in a bar on a visit to Paris. The results was superb and promptly ordered another!

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4 stars out of 5

Average user rating Based on 11 ratings

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Nutritional Info

Typical values per serving:
Energy 685.0kcal
Sugars 5.0g
Fat 41.9g
Saturated Fat 23.7g
Salt 4.0g

Click here for more information about health and nutrition


This recipe was first published on Waitrose.com in May 2006