English-style Croque-Monsieur

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 250 g bechamel sauce
• 3 1 tablespoon mustard
• 4 8 slices sandwich bread
• 5 80 g clarified butter
• 6 2 slices ham
• 7 200 g Cheddar cheese
• 8 Pepper (optional)
• Total weight: 1,065 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
30 min.	25 min.	50 min.

Step by step recipe

• 1:

  Béchamel with Hard-Boiled Eggs

  
  Chop the following ingredients fairly finel 2 hard-boiled eggs.
• 2: Mix them at 250 g bechamel sauce.
• 3: Add 1 tablespoon mustard (preferably "whole-grain mustard") and mix well.
• 4:

  Golden Sliced Bread

  
  Cut 8 slices sandwich bread to fairly thin slices.
• 5: Using a brush, spread clarified butter on one side of each slice of bread.
• 6: Brown each buttered side of each slice of bread in a skillet over medium heat.
• 7: Work in batches, and set the golden-brown slices aside as you go.
• 8:

  Assembling the Croque-Monsieurs

  
  Place a slice in front of you, golden side down, and spread a layer of béchamel sauce with hard-boiled eggs on top (you can add a little pepper if you like).
• 9: Place 1/2 slice of ham on top.
• 10: Then, generous slices of cheddar.
• 11: Take a second slice of bread—with the toasted side still facing down—and spread another layer of béchamel sauce on top.
• 12: Close the croque-monsieur with the second slice, and press down on it to flatten it slightly.
• 13: Place the croque monsieur on a sheet of parchment paper laid out on a baking sheet.
  Stick 4 toothpicks into the croque monsieur to hold it together while baking and prevent the top slice from shifting.
• 14: Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F).
  Do this for all the croque-monsieurs.
• 15: Bake at 160°C (320°F) for about 15–20 minutes, until the cheddar is fully melted, then remove the toothpicks.
• 16: Enjoy it while it's hot.

Remarks

If you like the smoky flavor, like I do, go for smoked cheddar instead of regular cheddar—you'll love it.
If you don’t have clarified butter, in step 2, spread the bread slices with softened butter (very soft).
A croque-monsieur is a simple dish, but it calls for high-quality ingredients—so, if possible, pay close attention to the bread, ham, and cheddar you use.
You may have noticed that I used whole-grain sandwich bread for this recipe—of course, this isn’t a requirement; it’s up to your personal preference.

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