Recipe
Croque monsieur
The Parisian café classic — ham and gruyère between slices of bread, topped with a quick béchamel and grilled until golden and bubbling. A sandwich you eat with a knife and fork.
Croque monsieur takes about 30 minutes and makes 2 servings. Each serving has 698 kcal.
- Preparation
- 15 minutes
- Cooking
- 15 minutes
- Total time
- 30 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 698 kcal
- Protein
- 37 g
- Carbohydrates
- 40 g
- Fat
- 39 g
Ingredients
- White bread4 kom
- Butter30 g
- All-purpose flour20 g
- Milk250 ml
- Gruyère cheese120 g
- Ham slices100 g
- Dijon mustard2 žličica
- Nutmegprstohvat
- Salt and pepperpo ukusu
Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook the paste for a minute, stirring — it must not brown.
- 2
Whisk in the milk in small additions, then simmer, stirring, until the béchamel is thick like custard, 3–4 minutes; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Tip: Add the milk gradually and keep whisking — pouring it in all at once is the fastest road to lumps. The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.
- 3
Spread two slices of bread with Dijon mustard, layer on the ham and half of the grated gruyère, and close the sandwiches.
- 4
Place the sandwiches on a baking tray, spread the béchamel generously over the tops and sprinkle with the remaining gruyère.
- 5
Bake at 200 °C for about 10 minutes, until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- 6
Switch to the grill for 2–3 minutes, until the top is golden brown and bubbling; rest a minute before serving.
Tip: Do not walk away while the grill is on — the top goes from golden to burnt in under a minute.
Cooking methods
On the stove
The béchamel needs steady medium heat — on gas keep the flame small so the milk never scorches at the bottom. The sandwich itself finishes in the oven, so any stovetop works for the sauce. If the roux smells toasty, start over.
On induction
Make the roux on level 4 of 9 and raise to 5–6 when whisking in the milk. Induction heats the pan bottom fast, so run the whisk into the corners of the pot to stop the sauce catching. Finish the sandwiches in the oven as written.
Over an open fire
The béchamel can be made in a pot on a rack over embers, stirred constantly. Bake the sandwich in a closed cast-iron pan over gentle embers — you will not get the bubbling grilled top from the oven, so flip it once instead.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 30 30 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 2 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Make the roux on level 4 of 9 and raise to 5–6 when whisking in the milk. Induction heats the pan bottom fast, so run the whisk into the corners of the pot to stop the sauce catching. Finish the sandwiches in the oven as written.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. The béchamel can be made in a pot on a rack over embers, stirred constantly. Bake the sandwich in a closed cast-iron pan over gentle embers — you will not get the bubbling grilled top from the oven, so flip it once instead.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
