How to prepare Croque Monsieur at home in the original French recipe. The typical Parisian bistro dish with Gruyere, bechamel and cooked ham

If you have been in France You've definitely tasted the Croque-monsieur in the original French recipe. This is a toast particularly gluttonous e fast to prepare, served in every bistro of the nation, Paris first and foremost. Is’ stuffed with Salsa bechamel, prosciutto cooked and gruviera, covered with béchamel sauce and cheese and baked in the oven until the bread becomes crispy and the cheese melted. Is’ very good. And hyper caloric. But every now and then you can do it. As you see in RECIPE VIDEO It's really simple to prepare.

Variants of the original French Croque Monsieur recipe

Of the Croque Monsier There is also the Variant without béchamel sauce, reported in several French cookbooks. But so it becomes almost identical to another classic dish of bistro cuisine French: il CROQUE MADAME, that I will show you in a few days. I like the Croque Monsieur in its original recipe, richer, with the Nutmeg scenta béchamel sauce that makes it very creamy. There are some recipes that also use the mustard, spread in small quantities on bread. Actually, mustard goes well with cooked ham, but it does not convince me much in combination with the béchamel sauce. The choice is yours.

I cheeses most used in France to prepare Croque Monsieur I'm the French Gruyere DOP (slightly different from the Swiss one in taste), Emmental or the county, a decidedly more valuable and gourmet cheese, but a little’ less 'stringy'.

Obviously it is far preferable to use a homemade béchamel sauce, but to know that there are ready-made ones on the market. I confess that I have never tasted them, because I love the béchamel sauce and I really like to prepare it and feel that sweet taste of milk and butter. For example in the CUTLETS WITH BÉCHAMEL here FENNEL GRATIN.

As for the bread, You can use anything you like: sandwich bread, Baguette, casareccio bread. even a little’ stale. Try it and let me know. Have a good day.

CROQUE MONSIEUR

Portions: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 250 calories 20 fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 7 voted )

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Ingredients

8 slices of bread in a box or of your favorite bread

200 grams of high quality cooked ham

200 grams of gruyere French or Swiss PDO

burro

• FOR béchamel

300 milliliters of fresh whole milk

30 grams of double zero type flour

30 grams of butter

salt and nutmeg

Procedure

Before preparing the Croque Monsier you have to make the béchamel sauce, which I suggest you do in advance so that it is cold when you use it. You can also do it a day in advance. Look at it RECIPE VIDEO to see how your Croque Monsieur will look at the end.

FOR béchamel - Heat the milk without bringing to the boil. Melt the butter in another bowl, remove from heat and add the flour to the butter, stirring until a homogeneous mixture without lumps is obtained (Red). Cook for a few minutes the roux on very low heat, always stirring. Add the hot milk a little at a time stirring with a whisk until the liquid is completely absorbed before adding more.

Continue stirring continuously until the béchamel sauce thickens, to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Season with salt and add a little nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator.

PER IL CROQUE MONSIEUR - Coarsely grate the Gruyere. Lightly grease all slices of bread. You can also add a bit of mustard if you like. Cover 4 slices with the béchamel sauce, then add the cooked ham and part of the grated gruyere. Cover the toast with the second slice of bread, spread over again béchamel sauce and grated gruyere.

Put the Croque Monsieur in a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and a crispy crust has formed on the toast. Serve immediately. Bon appétit!