The famous French toast croque monsieur was born in Parisian cafes at the beginning of the 20th century. We’re talking about buttered and golden slices of bread, enclosing a generous layer of cooked ham and Gruyère cheese, all gratinated to be crispy and stringy.
This toast creamy and stringy first appeared in Paris in 1900 when some French workers, placing their sandwiches on the radiator, found them well toasted on the outside and with melted cheese inside. Its name is composed of the terms croque, meaning “bite,” and monsieur, or “gentleman.”
For this recipe, I used the Buon Pane – white loaf contained in this month’s Degustabox.
You might also be interested in these tasty recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: French
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 521.41 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 30.54 (g) of which sugars 7.26 (g)
- Proteins 25.90 (g)
- Fat 33.62 (g) of which saturated 20.40 (g)of which unsaturated 12.75 (g)
- Fibers 2.83 (g)
- Sodium 891.12 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
INGREDIENTS FOR CROQUE MONSIEUR
- 4 slices white sandwich bread
- 2 slices cooked ham
- 2.6 oz Gruyère cheese
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste nutmeg
- 1 cup milk
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
PREPARATION OF CROQUE MONSIEUR
First, prepare the béchamel sauce: in a saucepan, melt a tablespoon of butter, add the flour while stirring quickly, then add the milk gradually until you get a smooth béchamel. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Let it cool.
Place 4 slices of sandwich bread on a cutting board. Butter each slice and then spread a tablespoon of béchamel on each slice, then sprinkle the grated Gruyère.
Place a slice of cooked ham folded so it doesn’t stick out from the edges. Cover with the other slices of bread spread with some béchamel to make them stick together.
Spread the remaining béchamel on the surface and distribute the other Gruyère set aside. Place in a preheated ventilated oven at 375°F, for 4-5 minutes or until the toasts are well browned.
Adriana’s Tip
Enjoy it freshly cooked, hot, steaming, creamy, and stringy.
