TRADITIONAL CROQUE MONSIEUR WITH BECHAMEL SAUCE (CAFE-STYLE)

Traditional Croque Monsieur with Bechamel Sauce (Cafe-Style) image

This is the traditional way to make a croque monsieur... straight from France, cafe-style!

Provided by leodiamond26

Categories Main Dish Recipes Sandwich Recipes

Time 30m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 pound shredded Gruyere cheese, divided
salt and ground black pepper to taste
16 slices white sandwich bread
½ pound thinly sliced ham

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place bread slices on a baking sheet.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour; cook and stir until paste-like, about 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, while stirring. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off the burner and stir in 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper.
Toast bread slices in the preheated oven, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Remove bread from the oven and top 8 slices with ham. Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining Gruyere over the ham, then top with remaining 8 bread slices. Pour Bechamel sauce over each sandwich and sprinkle with remaining Gruyere.
Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until cheese is nicely toasted but not burned, 1 to 2 minutes. Enjoy while hot.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 433.9 calories, Carbohydrate 21.7 g, Cholesterol 91.1 mg, Fat 26.6 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 26.6 g, SaturatedFat 14.8 g, Sodium 759.5 mg, Sugar 5.1 g