Name: Croque-monsieur
Prep time: 21 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 46 min
Yield: 6 Croque-monsieurs
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 12 slices Sandwich bread; 3 slices ham; 250 g Bechamel sauce; 150 g grated cheese

Step by step recipe:

5 min.
Begin by cutting the crusts off 12 slices Sandwich bread.
5 min.
Cut 3 slices ham to the size of the bread slices.
5 min.
Lightly fry the slices of ham in a very hot pan for just a few seconds on each side.
5 min.
Spread béchamel sauce on 2 slices of bread (tip: use a broad-bladed knife or palette knife).

Place a piece of ham on top of the sauce on one slice of bread.
5 min.
Then put the other slice of bread on the ham and sprinkle with grated cheese.
1 min.
Place the croque-monsieur on a baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
If you are making several croque-monsieurs, it is worth setting up a production line, i.e. spread béchamel sauce on all the bread, then arrange all the slices of ham, etc. This is much faster than doing one at a time.
Once all your croque-monsieurs are assembled, put the baking sheet into a hot oven.
20 min.
Cook for about twenty minutes, watching carefully for colouring.

You can put them under the grill to brown if necessary at the end.
Serve hot or warm if possible, with a green salad for example.

Remarks:

You can use whatever ham you prefer; I find that it's best with smoked ham, but it's a matter of taste. The same goes for the cheese. Gruyère, or even better Comté, will give you the best croque-monsieur.

yYu can cut the left-over crusts into small pieces and fry them in a little clarified butter or oil, to make small croutons which are great for adding to salads, for example.

Source:

Home-made

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This recipe use (among others)

Bechamel sauce: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spinach on toast with bechamel, Spinach Croque-monsieur , Stuffed artichokes au gratin, Moussaka, Spinach and hard-boiled egg gratin, ... [All]
Grated cheese: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Algerian brik rolls, Spinach and hard-boiled egg gratin, Hachis parmentier : meat with mashed potato and cheese, Duck Parmentier, Gratin slices with spinach, ... [All]
Sandwich bread: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spinach Croque-monsieur , Crab and smoked salmon club sandwiches , Grilled cheese, Chicken club sandwich, Eggs Benedict , ... [All]
Ham: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Potted meat (rillettes), Ham pasta bake, Mushroom buckwheat pancakes, Welsh (French Welsh Rarebit), Breton galettes (pancakes), ... [All]