Friday, March 4, 2022

How to Make Croque Monsieur - the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Take your ham and cheese sandwich to the NEXT delicious (and French) level with this cheesy and most amazing Croque Monsieur recipe

How to make Croque Monsieur - the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich



Why settle for a plain ham and cheese sandwich when you can have one of THESE Croque Monsieur?!? 
Just a couple of more ingredients, ten extra minutes of your time and taadaaa: THE ultimate ham and cheese sandwich!

A creamy, cheesy and knock-you-off-your-dining chair AMAZING Croque Monsieur. 
Done the way French people (...not Italians for once!) know best ;)
How to make Croque Monsieur - the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

This Croque Monsieur sandwich is all you wish for in a ham and cheese sandwich.
Made with gruyere cheese and a slice or two of tasty ham, squished between two thick slices of bread, drizzled ... or drowned (I'll leave that up to you!) in a delicate and scrumptious béchamel sauce. Toasted to a golden and melty perfection that will not disappoint you.
 
How to make Croque Monsieur - the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich


Ingredients I use for this recipe: 

- some tasty cheese (I used gruyere, but Emmental is a good alternative)
- good quality ham (I used Italian prosciutto cotto that I got at a local Italian deli)
- good quality bread (I used white sandwich bread cut in thick slices, but you can experiment with your favorite )
- the usual ingredient for white sauce: butter, flour and milk, flavored with a bit of dijon mustard and a dash of nutmeg. So good!


Start by making the béchamel sauce: 

melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Whisk in the flour when melted and cook for a minute or two. Gradually add the milk, while whisking until perfectly smooth. 

Cook until dense to your desired consistency. Add a little bit more milk if needed. Flavor with nutmeg and dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper


To assemble the Croque Monsieur sandwich: 


Place the bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle all slices with a layer of béchamel, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with grated cheese. 
Top half of the slices with one or two slices of ham. And close the sandwich (bechamel/cheese side in!), so that you end up with these layers: bread, béchamel, cheese, ham, cheese, béchamel and bread. 
Magical combination, right?!?
But wait, that is not all!
The best part of this sandwich, and what makes it the messiest fork-recommended sandwich that you can eat: Top the sandwich with one more layer of béchamel and more shredded gruyere on top.
Bake in upper part of the oven for 5 to 10 minutes until melty, bubbly and golden! And simply amazing!

NOTES: 

If the béchamel sauce is not smooth after whisking, you can use an immersion blender which will smooth it out quickly. 

You can easily make this Croque Monsieur into a  Crocque Madame, you just need to add a fried egg sunny-side up and place it on top of the sandwich. 

Ready to try it too?!? Bon Apetit!

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD: How to make Croque Monsieur - the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

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