Culinary Travel: Croque-Monsieur Recipe

Most brasseries and cafés in Paris offer non-stop service, and a staple of their menu is the croque-monsieur, an oozy and crisp grilled ham and cheese sandwich usually moistened by a touch of Béchamel sauce. If you’re extra hungry, get the croque-madame, which adds a fried egg on top.

Good croque-monsieurs have a few things in common: a single layer of French ham and Gruyere pressed between two thin slices of bread. Some, like this one, are filled and topped with béchamel, which makes the whole thing creamier and better. The bread is brushed with butter, and the sandwich is cooked on a griddle or toasted under a broiler so that the cheese almost liquefies and the bits of ham and cheese hanging out the side fall limp and caramelize.

Savor Your Trip To Paris In Your Own Home

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
⅔ cup milk
 Sea salt
 Freshly grated nutmeg
4 1/3-inch-thick slices country bread (not sourdough or whole wheat)
4 thin slices French ham
2 thin slices Gruyere cheese

Directions

Preheat a two-sided electric griddle on medium-high to high for about 20 minutes, or preheat the oven to 300 degrees and preheat a cast-iron skillet on top of the stove for about 5 minutes. Prepare a bechamel sauce: in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. When bubbles have subsided, add flour and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil, and cook until thick. Remove from heat, and season to taste with salt and nutmeg.

Spread two slices of bread generously with sauce. Lay two slices of ham on top of each, and top each with a slice of cheese; ham and cheese should slightly overlap edges of bread. Top each with a slice of bread.

In a small saucepan, melt remaining the 4 tablespoons butter. Brush the sandwiches on both sides with butter, making sure that the edges are well covered. If you're using a griddle, place cheese side down, close the griddle and cook until the bread is toasted dark and cheese is leaking out and bubbling. If you're using a skillet, place sandwiches cheese side down and cook on stove top until well browned, then turn and brown again. Transfer skillet to oven, and bake until heated through and cheese is bubbling.

Serve hot.

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