This cheesy and simple sandwich is the perfect Sunday dinner. It goes perfectly with a side of salad and pourquoi pas some home fries. This is a classic bistro food and the easiest way for parents to make dinner or lunch for the kids. In this recipe we are going the classy way and learning how to make a traditional Croque Monsieur with the famous Sauce béchamel!

Where Does Croque Monsieur Come From?

Well, it does come from France and is a typical dish in French Bistros, because it is fast to make. By the way, did you know that the word Bistro comes from the Russian word býstro, meaning “quickly”? When France was occupied by Russia in 1814, Russian soldiers use to come to French restaurants and asked for the food to be made quickly, hence the creation of bistros. So Croque Monsieur made their apparition around 1910 in several bistros and were mentioned by Marcel Proust himself in his book À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs.

This simple sandwich evolved from a simple cheese sandwich to a more exquisite recipe when béchamel sauce was added. It also developed a feminine counterpart with the Croque Madame, which adds an egg à cheval (on top). Some families (AKA mine) used to prefer to put a slice of tomato on top instead of an egg, to make it “healthier”.

Recipe of Croque Monsieur with Béchamel Sauce

Ingrédients (ingredients)

Pour la béchamel (for the béchamel sauce)

• 25 g de beurre (1.5 Tbsp of butter)

• 25 g de farine (1.5 Tbsp of flour)

• 50 cl de lait (2 cups of milk)

• sel, poivre, muscade (salt, pepper, nutmeg)

Pour le Croque Monsieur

• 8 tranches de pain de mie complet (8 slices of whole wheat bread)

• 125 g de Comté fraîchement râpé ou Cantal ou gruyère (1/2 cup of Swiss Cheese)

• 30 g de beurre (2 Tbsp of butter)

• 200 g de jambon blanc (8 -10 slices of ham)

• Noix de muscade (nutmeg)

• Sel (salt)

1. Commencez par la sauce béchamel. Dans une casserole, faites chauffer le beurre et une fois fondu, ajoutez la farine. Mélangez jusqu’à l’obtention d’un roux. Ajoutez le lait tout en remuant et continuer de mélanger pour que le mélange épaississe. Ajoutez du sel, du poivre et de la muscade salon votre got. Start with the Béchamel Sauce. In a sauce pan, heat the butter and use a whisk to make it melt. Keep on high heat. Once the butter is melted, quickly add the flour and whisk until all is turning into a roux. Then add the milk while whisking and keep mixing until it thickens. Then as salt, pepper and the nutmeg to taste. Set aside.

2. Placez 4 tranches de pain de mie et beurre-les. Ajoutez une fine couche de sauce béchamel et placez le jambon et le fromage rapé. Placez une autre tranche de pain pour fermer le croque monsieur. Lay 4 slices of bread and butter them. Add a thin layer of béchamel sauce, then add the ham and put the cheese on top. Put another slice of bread on top.

3. Ajoutez de la sauce béchamel sur le dessus du sandwich et ajoutez-y du fromage râpé. Faites cuire 10 minutes à 180 degrés Celsius. Add béchamel on top and grated cheese and put in the over for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Envie d’un Croque Madame? Ajoytez un oeuf (au plat) sur le dessus et voilà ! Want to make it a Croque Madame? Add an over-easy egg on top and voilà!

Bon Appetit!

Let us know how much you love Croque Monsieur in the comments below and don’t hesitate to ask questions or add fun facts, and share with a friend!