Croque Monsieur

About This Recipe

The croque monsieur — roughly 'Mr. Crunch' — is the grilled ham and cheese sandwich elevated to French café art. What separates it from every other toastie is the béchamel: a nutmeg-scented white sauce enriched with Gruyère, spooned over the assembled sandwich and grilled until it caramelises into a golden, bubbling, blistered crust. Inside, good cooked ham and more Gruyère melt together against a whisper of Dijon mustard, all held by buttery pan-toasted bread. It has been a fixture of Parisian café menus since 1910, eaten at zinc counters with a green salad and a glass of wine. Crown it with a fried egg and it becomes a croque madame. Deceptively simple, devastatingly delicious, and a fifteen-minute masterclass in French technique.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 slicesthick white bread(pain de mie or brioche)
• 4 slicesquality cooked ham
• 150 gGruyère(grated)
• 20 gunsalted butter
• 20 gplain flour
• 250 mlwhole milk(warm)
• 1 pinchfreshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbspDijon mustard
• 30 gsoftened butter(for the bread)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make béchamel

   Melt the butter over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook the roux for a full minute to lose the raw flour taste. Add the warm milk gradually, whisking constantly to keep it lump-free, and cook about 5 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then stir in 50g of the Gruyère off the heat.

   Warm milk into a hot roux is the lump-proof combination; cold milk into hot roux invites trouble.

2. 2

   Build the sandwich

   Butter one side of each bread slice — this is the outside. Spread Dijon on the unbuttered faces of two slices, then layer the ham in loose folds rather than flat sheets so it stays tender, followed by a generous handful of Gruyère. Close with the remaining bread, butter-side out.

3. 3

   Pan-fry

   Cook the sandwiches in a skillet over medium heat, about 3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until both faces are evenly golden and the cheese inside has begun to melt. Medium heat matters: too hot and the bread browns before the interior warms.

   A heavy pan or small pot set on top acts as an improvised press for even, café-style browning.

4. 4

   Add béchamel and grill

   Transfer the sandwiches to a baking sheet, spoon the béchamel thickly over the tops right to the edges, and scatter with the remaining Gruyère. Slide under a hot grill/broiler for 3–4 minutes until the surface is bronzed, bubbling, and blistered in spots. Serve immediately with a sharply dressed green salad.

   Watch constantly under the broiler — the line between burnished and burnt is about thirty seconds.

Variations

• •

  Croque Madame: top with a fried egg — the runny yolk becomes part of the sauce.

• •

  Croque Provençal: add tomato slices inside for acidity against the richness.

• •

  Croque Norvégien: swap the ham for smoked salmon and add a little dill to the béchamel.

• •

  Croque Auvergnat: use blue cheese alongside the Gruyère for a punchy mountain version.

Storage

Best eaten immediately while the béchamel crust is hot and crisp. Make components ahead instead: béchamel keeps refrigerated 3 days and the sandwiches can be assembled a few hours in advance, then pan-fried and grilled to order.

Frequently Asked Questions