Croque-Monsieur
The croque-monsieur is a classic French grilled cheese sandwich that’s a mainstay of Parisian cafes, bars, and bistros, not to mention innumerable take-out counters.
Ingredients:
For the Béchamel:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground white pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
For the Sandwich:
- 2 slices white bread
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter, or softened unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup grated Comté
- 1/2 cup béchamel sauce
- 2 to 3 slices ham
Preparation and Cooking:
For the Béchamel:
- Heat milk in a small saucepan on the stove or in a glass measuring cup in the microwave until hot but not boiling.
- Melt butter over medium heat.
- Add flour to the pan with the butter and whisk until mixture is well blended.
- Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in hot milk.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thicken, about 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to very low, and simmer, whisking frequently until sauce is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes.
For the Sandwich:
- Position a rack 8 inches from the broiler and set the oven to broil.
- Trim the crusts off of the bread, making the slices as square as possible. I don’t bother!
- Spread both slices of bread with butter.
- Flip bread over and spread them lightly with Dijon mustard.
- Combine the cheese and half of the béchamel sauce, and mix until the cheese is fully coated.
- Spread half the cheese mixture evenly onto one of the mustard sides of the bread and lay the sliced ham on top.
- Press both halves of the sandwich together, butter sides out.
- Heat a greased pan over medium heat until hot and glistening but not smoking.
- Place the sandwich into the pan and cook until the bottom of the bread is a nice shade of golden-brown.
- Flip the croque-monsieur over
- Lower the heat a bit and cover the pan.
- Cook for another minute or two, or until the second slice of bread is also golden brown, and the cheese inside is fully melted.
- Transfer the sandwich to a cookie sheet.
- Top with the remaining cheese mixture and spoon the other half of the béchamel over the top.
- Broil the sandwich, béchamel-side up (obviously!), until the top of the sandwich is nicely browned,
- Serve right away.
Enjoy!
