Croque Monsieur Recipe

Croque Monsieur Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 2

BECHAMEL SAUCE:

• generous 1¾ cups (425ml) milk
• a few black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• a slice of onion
• 3 tbsp (40g) butter
• ¾oz (20g) all-purpose (plain) flour
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Sandwiches:

• 4 slices sturdy white bread
• butter, at room temperature
• 4 slices cooked ham
• gruyere cheese, grated
• dijon mustard, to serve (you may also consider spreading some mustard inside the sandwich)

Method

1. To make the bechamel sauce, heat the milk gently in a saucepan with the peppercorns, bay leaves, and onion
2. When it reaches simmering point, take it off the heat and strain into a bowl
3. Discard the flavorings
4. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan, then mix in the flour, stirring vigorously to make a smooth paste, or roux
5. Start adding the milk slowly, mixing al the time
6. When about half of it is in, start adding it in larger quantities
7. The sauce should be smooth and glossy
8. Let it cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring, then remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper
9. Preheat the broiler (gril ) to low
10. To make the sandwiches, start by lightly toasting the bread slices
11. Spread with butter, then add a layer of ham, fol owed by a healthy layer of grated cheese to 2 of the slices
12. Add a second slice of toasted bread to each sandwich and top with a good blanket of the bechamel sauce
13. Add a little extra cheese on top, if you like
14. Place the assembled sandwiches under the broiler and broil (gril ) until the sandwiches are oozing, melting, and generally looking gorgeous
15. It’s good to do this slowly in order to make sure that the cheese inside is melted too
16. When it’s going nicely, turn up the broiler a bit to get the top al nice and bubbly
17. Serve immediately with some mustard

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