If you’ve never had a Croque Monsieur then you may wonder what it is. Simply put, it’s a ham and cheese sandwich with Dijon mustard and topped with béchamel sauce. It’s then toasted to perfection – bubbly and golden brown. Variants of the sandwich with substitutions or additional ingredients are given names modeled on the original croque-monsieur, for example: If you want to see how to make a classic béchamel, I put a tutorial in this recipe for Pan-Seared Ribeye with Mahon Menorca and Pepper Cheese Sauce. The béchamel is a base for this sauce. You just substitute Gruyere cheese, instead of Menorca, and add some nutmeg, and less pepper. So what should be included in Classic Croque Monsieur?

If however, you decide to forego the béchamel, then add a ton of shredded cheese on top of a sandwich and broil it until bubbly.

If making the chocolate sauce, smash up the chocolate and place in a heatproof glass bowl with the cream and a pinch of salt.

Place the butter, milk and sugar in a saucepan, pour over 330ml/11½fl oz water and add a pinch of salt. Slowly bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the butter has melted. Sift and stir in the flour until the mixture comes away from the sides and forms a ball. Beat for 30 seconds, then set aside to cool. Dip the top of the buns into the caramel, then sprinkle with sugar nibs. Repeat with as many of the buns as you want decorated. Remove from the heat, add the flour and beat into a paste. Beat in the eggs, one by one, till smooth and combined. Using a piping bag with a 1–1½cm/½–⅝in nozzle, pipe 3cm/1¼in diameter rounds on three to four baking trays (or cook in batches). Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and cook for 20–25 minutes. Make a small slit in the side of each bun, then bake for another 5 minutes.

Définition

Place over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl), and leave until the chocolate is melted and glossy, stirring occasionally. Toaster oven, to toast the sandwiches (if you don’t have it, toast the bread on a pan with a little bit of butter on both sides, and then once your sandwich is assembled place it under the broiler in your oven and you will be just fine);

There are references to the dish before the end of the 19th century. In 1891, La Revue athlétique mentions them:

More to discover

If you’re curious about some of the other variations, you may find it interesting that Jamie Olivier adds Dijon mustard to his béchamel sauce and uses turkey instead of ham and Julia Child used mozzarella instead of Gruyere (you can read about it here). Place over ahigh heat and leave to bubble for 4 to 5minutes, or until light brown and syrupy. Don’t stir it, just gently shake the pan occasionally, and be careful– hot sugar can burn very easily, so keep the kids away and don’t be tempted to taste it.