OUICOOK: Croque-Monsieur

A traditional french croque-monsieur sandwich. (DariaKM/Shutterstock)

When I think of French foods I think of french bread, eclairs, and Croque monsieur. I just think that you cannot get any more French sitting in a little cafe for lunch, having a Croque monsieur paired with a delicious spring rosé. It’s simply a quintessential part of french culture! My favorite rosé right now is Le Chataignier from Domaine de La Citadelle, which is a dry, fruity wine. I cannot tell you how well it goes with this recipe!

When I made these sandwiches, I served them on my absolute favorite thing in my kitchen: my charcuterie board! My family loves to use our wooden charcuterie boards for just about everything. It is not just reserved for bread and cheese! In fact, I use my board most for breakfast foods. I love putting various types of toasts (avocado toast, jam toast, egg toast, etc.) on it for my family brunches. Using our biggest board, I served these amazing sandwiches in family style. I loved the look of it and how easy the clean-up is!

Croque monsieur is essentially just French ham and cheese sandwiches, so this recipe is perfect for any picky eaters (kids too). The real secret to Croque monsieur is the mornay sauce. This cheesy sauce just makes it that much better and is so worth the extra few minutes to make!

Ingredients

8 slices of pain de mie (any bread will do when in a pinch) 8 slices of smoked ham 8 slices of gruyere cheese 2 ounces butter at room temperature Chopped chives (optional, but I love them so I put them on everything) 2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup flour 2 ounces shredded gruyere cheese 2.5 ounces butter 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg Salt and white pepper to taste

Directions

Start making the mornay sauce:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a saucepan, slowly melt the butter at low heat. Once melted, add the flour and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a slow boil. Keep whisking for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add the shredded gruyere cheese. Season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper to taste. Set aside.

Prepare the croque-monsieur:

3. Gently butter one side of the bread slices and set them face down onto a sheet pan. For each croque-monsieur, Layer one slice gruyere cheese, 1 tablespoon of the mornay sauce, 2 slices of smoked ham, another tablespoon of mornay sauce, top with another slice of gruyere. Cover with a buttered side of bread face up.

4. Cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each croque-monsieur into 4 wedges and decorate with chopped chives!

This article was originally published on OuiPlease.com