Recipe and origins of the croque-monsieur : toasted ham and cheese sandwich

Easy croque-monsieur recipe: step-by-step instructions

Ingredients for 4 people 

• 16 slices sandwich bread
• 8 slices of white ham (250 grams).
• 150 grams of Comté, Cantal, Emmenthal or grated Gruyère;

and enough to make a good béchamel sauce

• 30 grams butter
• 30 grams flour 
• 30 grams milk
• A little nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

The process: 

First make your béchamel sauce 

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, gently melt the butter. Don't set the heat too high, or the butter will burn and it won't taste good;
2. Add the flour and mix to obtain a very liquid paste: a blond roux;
3. Keep the saucepan on a medium heat and pour in the cold milk a little at a time, while continuing to stir;
4. When the sauce has thickened, add a little nutmeg, salt and pepper and finish mixing;

Then the croque-monsieur 

1. Start by preheating the oven to 200°C.
2. On 4 slices, spread the cold béchamel sauce on top;
3. On 4 more slices, spread the cold béchamel sauce on top and bottom;
4. Take the first 4 slices and place a little grated cheese on top.
5. Place the slices of ham on top.
6. Add a little grated cheese
7. Place the slices with the béchamel sauce on top and underneath;
8. Add a little more cheese to the top of the croque-monsieur;
9. On a baking tray, lay out some greaseproof paper and place your croque-monsieurs on top.
10. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Ideally, 10 minutes in the oven and 5 minutes under the broiler to brown the top;

It's always a good idea to serve your croque-monsieur with a small green salad;

croque monsieur Image by Jamie Rogers/Shutterstock

And the croque-madame?

A variation on the croque-monsieur, simply add a fried egg to your croque-monsieur at the time;

Croque-monsieur tips: crispy on the outside, melting on the inside

For a crisp croque-monsieur, lightly butter the outside of the bread before pan-frying or baking. You can also replace the béchamel with a touch of crème fraîche for added lightness. Finally, try different cheeses (comté, emmental, mozzarella) to vary the pleasures and bring new flavors to this classic.

Why do we call it a croque-monsieur?

When a street urchin becomes an executioner, a butcher and a bistro owner...

Numerous sources speak of a café located boulevard des capucins in Paris whose owner, Michel Lunarca, born in 1888 had  an original past since, as a child of the streets, he tried to make a living selling postcards, like his mother before him, but it didn't work out.  He galley quite a bit before being hired as "aide-bourreau"by Anatole Deibler.  A profession he exercises for a few years before becoming butcher, which shows a certain logic.  It was later again that he was hired as a commis de cuisine in the restaurant  "le bel âge" in Paris. Hard-working and gifted, he pleased the owner, who decided to leave him his bistro when he died;

And the former executioner improvises a dish for a customer

Human beings being so made that they are often bad-tongued, people in the neighborhood don't hesitate to say that he sometimes serves human meat in his restaurant. And all these people may say so when he has his back turned, Michel Lunarca knows it well. And so, one evening, when a customer asked him for a sandwich, even though he had run out of bread, Lunarca decided to offer a small dish of his own invention:  two slices of sandwich bread (that's all he has left this) which he heats and between which he slips a slice of ham.  "What is this dish?" asks the customer when Monsieur Lunarca puts the plate in front of him.   "Human meat" répond Lunarca Joking, knowing its reputation

Supposed portrait of Michel Lunarca / By Titus pullo - Own work CC Wikicommons

Croque-monsieur: a dish that's gone global

Now, "croque monsieur", this dish quickly became a must-try in Paris, where, before it, people hated the sandwich bread invented by the English.  Michel Lunarca continued his life as patron of bistrot before becoming soldier during the First World War.  He served at the front as a cantinier with the 19th Infantry Regiment. Married, father of a little girl, he died of Spanish flu in 1920. His dish became an emblem of French cuisine. 

croque monsieur Image by Mironov Vladimir/Shutterstock

Croque-monsieur FAQs

When was the croque-monsieur invented?

Croque-monsieur was first mentioned in 1910 in a Parisian café on Boulevard des Capucines.

What's the difference between a croque-monsieur and a croque-madame?

The croque-madame is a variant of the croque-monsieur, simply topped with a fried egg.

Can you make a croque-monsieur without béchamel sauce?

Yes, some make it with just grated cheese or a thin layer of cream. But béchamel is still the most traditional version.

Which cheese to use for a croque-monsieur?

Emmental and Gruyère are the most classic, but Comté and Mozzarella add interesting flavors.