Prepare the Mornay sauce: Scald milk in a small saucepan and set aside. Melt butter in a second saucepan and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute then slowly add the hot milk. Whisk to eliminate lumps as sauce thickens. Remove pan from heat and bring to work surface. Add cheese and whisk until melted into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
Assemble sandwich: Toast slices of bread to golden. Place two slices onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Divide mustard between the two slices, spreading out evenly over the surface. Add ham. Spoon a generous helping of the Mornay sauce over the ham, followed by 1/2 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese onto each. Place the remaining two pieces of toasted bread onto the stacks. Spoon additional Mornay sauce across the top pieces of toast followed by a sprinkle of the remaining Gruyère. Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Crisp sandwiches: Remove baked sandwiches from oven. Turn oven setting to broil. Sprinkle tops of each sandwich with the Parmesan cheese. Return sandwiches to oven, watching closely as the tops brown.
Remove from oven. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Croque Monsieur
Ingredients
For the Mornay sauce:
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
¼ cup Gruyère cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
grated nutmeg
black or white pepper to taste
For the sandwiches - makes 2
4 slices brioche or sliced white bread
8 thin slices cooked ham
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 ¼ cup Gruyère cheese, grated
1 cup Mornay sauce
½ cup grated Parmesan
chopped parsley for garnish
Directions
Prepare the Mornay sauce: Scald milk in a small saucepan and set aside. Melt butter in a second saucepan and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute then slowly add the hot milk. Whisk to eliminate lumps as sauce thickens. Remove pan from heat and bring to work surface. Add cheese and whisk until melted into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
Assemble sandwich: Toast slices of bread to golden. Place two slices onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Divide mustard between the two slices, spreading out evenly over the surface. Add ham. Spoon a generous helping of the Mornay sauce over the ham, followed by 1/2 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese onto each. Place the remaining two pieces of toasted bread onto the stacks. Spoon additional Mornay sauce across the top pieces of toast followed by a sprinkle of the remaining Gruyère. Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Crisp sandwiches: Remove baked sandwiches from oven. Turn oven setting to broil. Sprinkle tops of each sandwich with the Parmesan cheese. Return sandwiches to oven, watching closely as the tops brown.
Remove from oven. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Croque Monsieur
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Toasted brioche piled with thin slices of ham, grated Gruyère cheese, a smidge of Dijon and a rich Mornay sauce before getting baked in the oven…
Who wants a really delicious sandwich? How about a CROQUE MONSIEUR?!
Please make me a promise that you’ll keep this recipe at the ready. Then, put it to good use whenever you need a sandwich that exceeds all expectations. We expect you’ll fall in love with this CROQUE MONSIEUR sandwich just like we did. It’ll happen on your first bite!
Before we list the specifics of this tasty treat, best to share one important feature: it’s actually really easy to make. So don’t get nervous thinking this sandwich might be too much for your culinary skill set. Simply follow our step-by-step guide. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a popular meal idea that tastes as good, if not better, than it looks.
Here’s how to make our classic CROQUE MONSIEUR:
SANDWICH FIXIN’S
We’re smitten with the list of ingredients needed to make this glorious sammie. Everything is easy to find and should be readily available in your local grocery store. This is part of the beauty of a CROQUE MONSIEUR, a sandwich meant to just be an easy meal idea or quick snack. Remember, it may look fancy and taste divine but it’s just a warmed ham and cheese sandwich with some extra flavour enhancements.
MORNAY SAUCE
The first of these flavour enhancements is the Mornay sauce. Leave it to those crafty French chefs to dream up this sensational pairing of a classic BÉCHAMEL or white sauce enhanced with cheese. It’s added to this sandwich twice. First, it was added to make the inside creamy. Then, it’s added a second time as a topper on the sandwich to help it get crispy as it bakes.
Thankfully there are no strict rules on the type of cheese added to a Mornay sauce, so don’t be surprised when recipes call for Parmesan, Emmental, white cheddar or Gruyère, which is what we used. Feel free to use combinations of these cheeses too. Remember this sauce for other uses; it’s also perfect with vegetables, simple pasta dishes and poultry.
STACK IT UP
Once you make your Mornay sauce, it’s time to assemble your sandwiches and everything gets stacked onto a favourite French bread called brioche. Can’t find or don’t like brioche? Feel free to swap it out with your favourite bread. We are hoping you can try the recipe with brioche though – it has a tiny bit of sweetness and rich egg flavour that pairs perfectly with the ham and cheese.
Speaking of ham and cheese, use thin slices of your favourite cooked ham plus grated Gruyère cheese. Gruyère and Emmental are the two cheeses most often used in this recipe, and we especially like Gruyère for its stringy texture and nutty flavour.
CRUNCHY MISTER
CROQUE MONSIEUR translates to “crunch mister”, and that crunch happens during the final moments of preparation. We take the oven-baked sandwich, add a sprinkle of Parmesan and place it under the broiler to crisp up. Prepare to be amazed when you see what this technique does to the Mornay sauce, Gruyère and Parmesan. It’s the best crunchy sandwich sensation ever!
BON APPETIT
Because this sandwich is meant to be made and enjoyed without too much fuss, simply serve it on its own. This is the type of meal that only requires a fork, knife and napkin or serviette, but little else. Okay, go ahead and enjoy it with our SIMPLE SALAD and maybe one or two of our GARLIC DILL PICKLES, but that’s it. It’s really perfect as is.
Prepare the Mornay sauce: Scald milk in a small saucepan and set aside. Melt butter in a second saucepan and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute then slowly add the hot milk. Whisk to eliminate lumps as sauce thickens. Remove pan from heat and bring to work surface. Add cheese and whisk until melted into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
Assemble sandwich: Toast slices of bread to golden. Place two slices onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Divide mustard between the two slices, spreading out evenly over the surface. Add ham. Spoon a generous helping of the Mornay sauce over the ham, followed by 1/2 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese onto each. Place the remaining two pieces of toasted bread onto the stacks. Spoon additional Mornay sauce across the top pieces of toast followed by a sprinkle of the remaining Gruyère. Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Crisp sandwiches: Remove baked sandwiches from oven. Turn oven setting to broil. Sprinkle tops of each sandwich with the Parmesan cheese. Return sandwiches to oven, watching closely as the tops brown.
Remove from oven. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
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