Many years ago (before Mr Man and children), occasionally my friend Lizzie and I would take off to Melbourne for a couple of days to take in the sites. This involved walking the streets, shopping and more importantly eating and drinking. We always stayed at a little hotel in St Kilda that had a bakery underneath called Il Fornaio, and each morning (usually feeling a little worse for wear) we would go there to read the papers, drink coffee and eat their Croque Monsieurs. Although we went to some great bars and restaurants the night before, this part of our trip was our favourite ritual – it was relaxing, the coffee was great and the croques were sensational, providing the very much needed sustenance we needed to do it all again.
The Croque Monsieur originated in France in 1910 as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars, it is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a topping of béchamel sauce. Roughly translated it means ‘Mister Crunchy’ however they are known colloquially as ‘croques’.
There are many variations out there, you can throw on a fried egg and it becomes a Croque Madame, which is also very good. Whether it is for breakfast or late night snacking, these super French sandwiches will really hit the spot – Francophile or not!
Ingredients
8 slices crusty white bread, cut 1cm (approx 1/3 inch) thick
95 grams/3.4 ounces (1/3 cup) Dijon mustard
4 thick slices leg ham
300 grams/10.6 ounces Gruyère, coarsely grated
113 grams/4 ounces butter, coarsely chopped
Béchamel
90 grams/3.2 ounces butter, coarsely chopped
90 grams/3.2 ounces plain flour, sieved
375 mls (1 1/2 cups) milk
30 grams/1 ounce finely grated parmesan
Pinch finely grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour, cook until light golden (a couple of minutes) and remove from the heat. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, then gradually add milk to the butter mixture, whisking continuously. Return to heat, stir until mixture just returns to the boil (around 3 minutes), stir in the parmesan and nutmeg and season to taste. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and brush with 1/2 of the melted butter. On a work surface, place 4 slices of bread in a single layer, spread with a thin layer of mustard, followed by a thick layer of béchamel, the ham (equally divided) and then half of the grated gruyere (divided equally). Cover with the remaining 4 slices of bread and brush with the remaining melted butter. Transfer to the sheet pan and bake in the oven until bread looks lightly toasted (5 – 10 minutes).
Remove from oven and cover the top of each sandwich with another thick layer of béchamel and more grated gruyere. Grill on high for 3 – 5 minutes, until topping is melted and golden brown. Serve immediately.
Notes: I had a cocktail party many moons ago and served mini versions of these made with sliced baguettes – they went down a treat.
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
Wow, I had forgotten about these. My mum used to make them when I was growing up and I LOVED them. Thanks for reminding me how good they are, they look fantastic!