Recipe: Tasty Croque Monsieur with a simple side salad. And a croque madame for the ladies

Croque Monsieur with a simple side salad. And a croque madame for the ladies.

You can have Croque Monsieur with a simple side salad. And a croque madame for the ladies using 11 ingredients and 3 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Croque Monsieur with a simple side salad. And a croque madame for the ladies

1. You need 4 slices of sourdough or crusty bread.
2. It's 75 grams of butter.
3. Prepare 75 grams of grated cheddar cheese.
4. Prepare 75 grams of grated gruyere cheese.
5. You need 4 of thick slices of good quality ham.
6. Prepare 125 ml of milk.
7. It's 2 of bay leaves.
8. Prepare 1 of small onion chopped in quarters.
9. It's 20 grams of plain flour.
10. You need 2 tbsp of heaped Dijon mustard.
11. You need of Good splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Croque Monsieur with a simple side salad. And a croque madame for the ladies step by step

1. Make a simple béchamel sauce. Using milk, bay leaves and a small onion.
Add the Dijon mustard, a little Worcestershire sauce and the cheddar cheese. It should be a thick creamy sauce with a dark deep flavour. (well that’s how I like it but by all means use less of the mustard) Season to taste all the time..
2. Then with your slices of sourdough bread spread a little butter on one side and grill until golden (one side only) 
Turn the bread over and spread each slice with a thin layer of the béchamel sauce and add generous slices of ham. Add your grated gruyère cheese and form Into a sandwich. In a frying pan melt some butter and fry gently on both sides until golden. Transfer to a preheated oven and cook for 4-5 minutes so it warms right through to the centre..
3. Now you are ready to plate up, but like a gentleman I am, I fried a free range egg to turn one of the sandwiches into a croque madame!! Unfortunately or maybe fortunately in this case, I had no female company to share with.....So I ate them both myself 😉😉 All the best and enjoy..