Croque Monsieur
The French name Croque Monsieur translates to "Crisp Mister" and is basically a cooked cheese and ham sandwich, traditionally made with gruyere cheese and thinly sliced ham.
The name is sometimes shortened to Croque. Below is a recipe for a full blown version of a Croque Monsieur which is fabulous for lunch served with French fries and a dressed salad.
A more simple version would be to make a cheese and ham sandwich in the usual way, then fry in butter until crisp and golden on both sides. Alternatively, spread the outside on your sandwich with plenty of butter and cook under a very hot grill until well browned on both sides.
Croque Monsieur Recipe HT MC French 20mins
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 slices Sandwich Bread
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
8 thin slices of Ham
176g/6oz Gruyere cheese, grated
2 tbsp Butter, softened
20ml/4fl.oz. COLD Béchamel or Thick White Sauce
Instructions:
1. Preheat the grill to hot. Spread 4 slices of bread with the mustard then top each with a slice of ham.
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cheese and divide the remaining cheese between the ham topped slices of bread, sprinkling it evenly over the ham.
3. Place the 4 remaining slices of ham on the cheese and top with the remaining 4 slices of bread to make a sandwich.
4. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet, butter the top slices with the butter then grill for 4- 5 minutes until well browned and crisp.
5. Turn them over, and grill for a further 3-4 minutes until well toasted.
6. Remove from the grill, turn them over again then spread the top of each with the cold béchamel sauce, sprinkle with the reserved cheese, place back under the very hot grill and cook until golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Béchamel (white) Sauce Veg HT ACC 15mins plus infusion
Makes approx 360ml/12fl.oz.
Ingredients:
300ml/10 fl.oz Milk
1 Shallot, skinned and sliced
A small piece of carrot cut up
½ a stick of Celery, chopped
½ Bay leaf
3 Peppercorns
25g/1oz Butter
25g/1oz Flour
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Put the milk, vegetables and flavourings into a pan and bring slowly to the boil. Remove from heat, cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain.
2. Melt the butter in a pan but do not allow it to brown then add the flour and stir until smooth. Cook over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes stirring all the time.
3. Remove from heat and add the milk, little by little, stirring after each addition to prevent any lumps forming.
4. Once all the milk has been added, bring the sauce to the boil, stirring continuously and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Season to taste.
and Enjoy 
