Croque-monsieur


Croque-monsieur
A classic of French "street food" or bistros: a slice of ham between two slices of bread spread with béchamel sauce. The sandwich is then sprinkled with cheese and toasted in the oven.
273 K 4.1/5 (45 reviews)
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Last modified on: August 1st 2010
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For 6 Croque-monsieurs, you will need:

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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 25 min.
Cooking: 25 min.
All in all: 50 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - ⌛ 5 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 1
Begin by cutting the crusts off 12 slices sandwich bread.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 2
Cut 3 slices ham to the size of the bread slices.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 3
Lightly fry the slices of ham in a very hot pan for just a few seconds on each side.

Stage 4 - ⌛ 5 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 4
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.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 5 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 5
Then put the other slice of bread on the ham and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Stage 6 - ⌛ 1 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 6
Place the croque-monsieur on a baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

Stage 7
Croque-monsieur : Stage 7
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.

Stage 8
Croque-monsieur : Stage 8
Once all your croque-monsieurs are assembled, put the baking sheet into a hot oven.

Stage 9 - ⌛ 20 min.
Croque-monsieur : Stage 9
Cook for about twenty minutes, watching carefully for colouring.

You can put them under the grill to brown if necessary at the end.

Stage 10
Croque-monsieur : Stage 10
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.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe460 RDI=180 %2,140 RDI=200 %440 RDI=70 %2,670 RDI=130 %11,170 RDI: 130 %
Per 100 g40 RDI=20 %210 RDI=20 %40 RDI=6 %260 RDI=10 %1,090 RDI: 10 %
Per piece80 RDI=30 %360 RDI=30 %70 RDI=10 %440 RDI=20 %1,860 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: milk, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 Croque-monsieurs : 4.75 €
  • Per Croque-monsieur : 0.80 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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