Croque Monsieur or Madame

Tags

bistro meal, Cheese, classic french, croque, croque madame, croque monsieur, grilled cheese, lunch, sandwich, toasted cheese

At its best a croque monsieur is a strong contender for the world’s finest cheese and ham sandwich.  It basically is a french gourmet version of the grilled cheese.

There are very few ingredients but to make the classic bistro favourite, each ingredient must be of the best quality and of course the right choice.

So as this is a sandwich, it makes sense to start with the right bread. A good croque monsieur is both crisp and tender. You need a soft yet firm white sandwich bread, (pain de mie), reasonably thick slices. Some people like brioche for their croque because it’s both soft and buttery, but any high-quality white sandwich bread is good here.

Next the cheese. The traditional is a delicious gruyère. Gruyère is a firm, slightly elastic mountain cheese with a slightly sweet, nutty flavour. Most importantly for our purposes, it melts magnificently, but a good comté or cantal is just as good. Freshly grated is very important. You do not want to use pre grated and packaged.

Next is the ham. Again here, not any old packaged ham. Nice medium sliced french ham is best.

Of course, there is one thing that sets the croque apart from other great cheese and ham toasted sandwiches, namely that it arrives at the table drowned in golden and bubbling bechamel sauce.

The croque monsieur often comes accessorised with dijon mustard, the acidic heat tempering its outrageous cheesiness.

And of course if you wish to make a croque madame, it is exactly the same thing but with a fried egg added on top.

Makes 4

Ingredients:

• 8 thick slices white bread
• 8 slices ham, preferably Paris ham (jambon blanc)
• 150g / 5oz. Gruyère, grated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

béchamel

• 30g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 30g / ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 250ml / 1 cup whole milk
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F
Béchamel: Melt the butter on low heat
Add the flour and whisk for a few minutes Add the cold milk, bit by bit, while whisking continuously
Add the nutmeg and season to taste
Allow to thicken slightly
Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes
Spread some of the cold béchamel on each slice of bread
Add a bit more than half of the grated cheese onto 4 slices of bread
Place a slice of ham on top of the cheese
Close the slices of bread by placing the slices with béchamel on top of the slices with the cheese and ham, béchamel side inside
Press firmly to close
Spread the remaining béchamel on the sandwiches and top with the rest of the grated cheese
Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, until they are golden brown
Serve immediately
Bon Appétit!

 

 

 

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Gougères

Tags

apero, appetizer, Cheese, chou pastry, gougeres, gruyere, hors d'œuvres

The best way to describe gougères is to call them cheese puffs. Their dough, pâte à choux, is the same one you’d use for sweet cream puffs or profiteroles, but when the pâte à choux is destined to become gougères, you fold in a good amount of grated cheese. I use Gruyère, Comté, Emmenthal or sharp cheddar. These delicate bites originated in Burgundy and are traditionally served with a kir or a glass of champagne. Who am I to not follow tradition, so either a kir royale (cassis with bubbly) or plain champagne is my drink of choice with these cheesy puffs.

note:
Cook the paste until its dry. It’s important to cook the dough for a few minutes before adding the eggs; this dries it out and makes it more able to absorb the eggs.
Use the right number of eggs for your dough. Depending on your flour and the humidity of the day you are making the gougères, you might not need all the eggs. Add the eggs in three additions, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl before the next batch, and checking for doneness. If you scoop up a little bit with your spatula and let it slide back into the bowl, it should leave behind a little “V” of dough on the spatula.

Makes about 18

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup coarsely grated cheese, such as Gruyère or cheddar

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 210 C / 425 F
• Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper
• Bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan
• Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low and immediately start stirring energetically
• Keep stirring for a minute or two to dry the dough.  It should now be very smooth
• Turn the dough into the bowl
• Let the dough sit for a minute then add the eggs one by one while beating energetically.  The dough should become thick and shiny
• Beat in the grated cheese
• Using about 1 tablespoon for each gougère, drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheet
• Leave about 5cm / 2 inches between each
• Slide the sheets into the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 185 C / 375 F
• Bake for about 25 minutes until they are firm, golden and puffed
• Enjoy!

Raclette in a pan / Raclette à la poêle

Tags

Cheese, fondue, potatoes, raclette, saucisse de morteau, sausage, winter foods

Raclette is essentially melted cheese, served over boiled potatoes with lots of ground black pepper, accompanied by small pickled onions and gherkins. The name comes from the French verb “racler”, to scrape, because of the way the melted cheese is scraped off the block.

A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small pans, known as coupelles, in which to melt slices of raclette cheese. Generally the grill is surmounted by a hot plate or griddle. The cheese is brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables and charcuterie. These are then mixed with potatoes and topped with cheese in the small, wedge-shaped coupelles that are placed under the grill to melt and brown the cheese. Alternatively, slices of cheese may be melted and simply poured over food on the plate. The emphasis in raclette dining is on relaxed and sociable eating and drinking, the meal often running to several hours.

However if you do not own such a grill, and I do not, there is still a way to enjoy this amazing dish. Simply use a sauté pan and voila – dinner is served, in all its all gooey and melting deliciousness.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 precooked smoked sausage (I used a saucisse de Morteau)
800 g / 1.7 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic
8 slices raclette cheese
5 g / 1 teaspoon butter
Large pinch of Herbs de Provence
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cut the sausage into bite sized pieces
Melt the butter in a sauté pan
Add the onion, garlic and the sausage and lightly brown
Boil the potatoes until almost cooked
Drain and cut into cubes
Add the potatoes to the pan
Add the herbs de Provence and cook all for about 5 minutes
Remove from the heat
Add salt and pepper
Add the cheese and cover with a lid to allow the cheese to melt
Serve with a green salad
Enjoy!

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