The count down is on to my first ever trip to France. I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life and I can’t wait!! I’m brushing up on some French inspired gastronomy as I will be gladly cooking for my besties in the gorgeous Provençal villa we are renting. Everyone loves grilled cheese sandwiches, and if you’ve never tried a Croque before …. it’s grilled cheese x 1000. Only the French would add rich bechamel on top of a perfectly good thing to take it way over the edge….. and of course it’s the most outrageously delicious treat. You can sub the sour dough for any dense bread you like. Add more ham, omit the ham or sub it with smoked turkey. Do whatever you please, to it as long as you keep the bread, gruyere and bechamel.

*I used a round sourdough loaf so the slices were quite large. This would yield 6 average sized sandwiches.

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Croque Monsieur

The most decadent of ham & cheese sandwiches

Course Breakfast, brunch, Sandwich

Cuisine French

Keyword croque monsieur, french

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Ingredients

1 sour dough boule (round)
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1½ cups milk
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups gruyere cheese grated
9-12 slices smoked deli ham
2 ½ tbsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

On medium heat melt butter in a small sauce pan. Whisk in flour until it comes together into a roux. Add the milk in 1/2 cup at a time whisking to thicken before adding next bit of milk. When the entire mixture starts to thicken turn off heat. Stir in freshly grated nutmeg, salt, 1/2 tablespoon Dijon and 1/4 cup of shredded gruyere. Set aside
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Cut 6 pieces of the sourdough from the largest part of the loaf. Butter each slice on one side.
Spread a very thin layer of Dijon on each of the un buttered sides. Lay half of your buttered bread slices on the pan butter side down. Sprinkle each slice with approximately 1/3 cup of cheese, top with 3 or more slices of ham and another 1/3 cup of cheese. Place remaining buttered slices on top of the sandwiches.
Bake for 10 minutes, flipping them after 5 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven. Turn on broiler. Cover the top of each sandwich with enough bechamel to cover ( approximately 1/4cup each) . Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Pop back into the oven for 2-3 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly. * once it goes under the broiler keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
*I used a round sourdough loaf so the slices were quite large. This would yield 6 average sized sandwiches.