Croque Monsieur is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich that originated in France. It has become quite popular all over Europe, in my school days now many years ago we were told they were popular the world over and could be ordered everywhere. While that may be so, here in the states they are far and in-between. They come in a whole host of varieties as well from a covered sandwich to open faced and sometimes even with an extra layer. Add a poached egg and this incarnasion is known as a croque madame, in Sweden many pubs serve them topped with a slice of pineapple which is known as a croquet Hawaiian gratinéed under a broiler. I have always made my croquet monsieur open faced with tomatoes finished under a broiler, sometimes this version is known as croquet provençal, which is fitting as I also like to add garlic butter and I will do so here today. However the variations don’t stop there, sometimes they will substitute the ham for smoked salmon, we even offer one with grav lax and poached egg. Another option which is quite good is with the addition or substitution of sauce béchamel which opens up the field for a whole host of other baked sandwiches examples include; stewed mushrooms or stewed wild mushrooms, stewed shrimp or other shellfish and on and on it goes. the assortments are basically limitless as is the presentation which range from the decadent to casual and everything in-between.
We had an in house bakery for a number of years, as a result I have become accustomed to baking all my bread products myself. But store bought is a perfectly fine, that said for today I have baked some French bread, but most any white bread or sourdough works just as well. You can toast the bread first if desired, or spread butter on one side and pan toast the bread if you like. alternatively simply slice the bread and build your sandwich, for today that’s what I will be doing, keeping it nice and simple.
Shopping List
Bread: French, milk bread, pan di mie, brioche, sour dough
Butter or garlic butter
Ham: boiled, baked, smoked
Tomatoes
Emmentaler or Gruyère cheese
My Mad Method
Start with a nice loaf of bread, these are fresh baked French
Slice bread, and spread butter or garlic butter on one side
If using garlic butter make your own or use store bought
Spread a light layer of Dijon
Add a few sliced of ham
You can use boiled ham, baked ham or smoked
Add a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes
Top with a layer of either Gruyère or Emmentaler and brown for a few minutes under a broiler
Ready to serve!!
Ready to eat!! (Side angle)
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