The Croque Monsieur is a typical French street food recipe. The first time I prepared it, I had some leftover bread from the night before and since it intrigued me a lot, I tried to make it, but I replaced an ingredient… The French recipe calls for Comté cheese which I didn’t have, so I used our grated Grana Padano and well, I hope the French won’t mind, but I put a little bit of Italy into their sandwich.
I used 2 small pre-baked baguettes, but they can be replaced with white bread or even leftover bread, like a loaf, from the day before.
Cooking is done in the air fryer for convenience and practicality, but you can easily use the traditional oven.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: French
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
For 2 baguettes or 300 g of bread
- 300 g baguette
- 100 g cooked ham
- 100 g Grana Padano DOP
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 tbsps butter
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste nutmeg
Tools
- 1 Air Fryer
Steps
Start by preparing the béchamel, melting the butter, removing it from the heat, and adding the flour, stirring with a whisk. Put it back on the heat, cook for a few minutes, and gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk to avoid lumps. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thicken.
On a cutting board with a long-bladed knife, cut the baguettes in half
Spread the béchamel on the bread
Grate the Grana Padano, the cheese should be abundant.
Distribute the ham slices on the baguette base
Close with the other slice and press slightly with your hand, transfer the sandwiches to a pan or container that you’ll insert into the fryer, cover with the rest of the béchamel, and grate more Grana.
Set to 375°F for 5 minutes or until the surface is golden.
If you like, you can give it 1 minute of grill for a crispier crust
Once ready, cut each baguette diagonally in half
Serve it hot, it’s fabulous!
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
If I don’t have an air fryer, can I cook it in the oven?
Yes, you can cook it in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10-12 minutes until golden.
