Croque Monsieur

This is a New Year’s treat for the boy. Over the years a Croque Monsieur has been reduced to a ham and cheese toasted sandwich, which is only half of the story. It needs a smooth béchamel to make it velvety and rich.

5tbsp salted butter

1tbsp plain flour

2/3 cup full fat milk

Sea salt

Grated nutmeg

½ tsp Dijon mustard

4 thick slices white bread

4 slices of decent ham

2 slices Gruyere cheese

(This makes two - scale up accordingly)

A run down on the ingredients first. The bread should really be white, but not “plastic white sliced”. I love Amanda Hesser, on whose New York Times Cookbook this is based, but disagree with her assertion that sourdough bread shouldn’t be used. My only concession is that sourdough loaves can be quite small, in which case, just make more sandwiches. Ham should be sliced from the deli. I like Wiltshire or Yorkshire ham, preferably with some white fat on them. Never the square watery stuff that comes in plastic packets. The cheese – AH recommends Gruyere and I agree, though Jarlsberg would be good too. Any cheese with holes is a good clue here.

Get the sandwich toaster heating up. You can do this in a skillet if you don’t have one.

Confession – I have never been good at making Béchamel. For this reason I have Schubert’s Octet on the CD player to steady my nerves. Melt 1tbsp of the butter slowly, so it doesn’t burn. When it starts bubbling, add the flour and whisk for a minute until you get what looks like a thick paste. Slowly add the milk and keep whisking so you don’t get lumps. This is where I usually go wrong. Using a whisk rather than a spoon helps, as does adding the milk bit by bit. Stir in the Dijon. Raise the heat until it comes to the boil and thickens.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg, freshly grated over.

Melt the rest of the butter.

Spread 2 slices of bread with the béchamel and place two slices of ham on top of each, and then a slice of the cheese on top of that. Put the other two slices of these on top and press down.

Brush both sides of the sandwich with melted butter. Our sandwich maker is non-stick, but the butter will add to the luxurious taste of this. Toast well, or in a skillet until it is really well browned and the cheese is like lava.

Serve with sliced dill pickles. Not very French but the boy likes the sharpness against the creaminess and I tend to agree. Otherwise I think grilled tomatoes would be a really nice accompaniment, along with a small green salad. The boy is clear that the green salad needs to be quite small.

For another day, a Croque Madame is the same is the same but with the addition of a fried egg. I think I wouldn’t try this in the sandwich maker as this is best as an open sandwich. Toast the bread, add the béchamel, ham and gruyere and put under the grill until melty and lovely. Top with a fried egg, ideally with the yolk still runny. Spoon over a little more Bechamel and black pepper. The boy's view is that a sandwich that needs cutlery isn't a sandwich and thinks this heading into Eggs Benedict territory. He says it needs a different name. It can form one of his many sandwich campaigns.

There are endless variations to the classic Croque Monsieur but this original 1910 recipe is the best. I’ve seen versions that have other ingredients or swap them around (salmon, pineapple, herbed mayonnaise, creole seasoning), but to me it’s like Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Just don’t. Tandoori Chicken – Lovely! Pizza – Lovely! Tandoori Chicken Pizza – Not Lovely!!!! Same with a messed about Croque Monsieur.