Croque Monsieur with Green Apple Salad

Recipe: Croque Monsieur with Green Apple Salad

Ingredient List:

2 slices sourdough per sandwich

3 oz gruyere per sandwich

plus 2 oz gruyere for sauce

2 oz grated Parmesan 

1/4 lb ham per sandwich

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

2 cups milk 

optional: 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground pepper

For salad:

1 bag mixed lettuce greens 

1 green apple

1 red onion 

1 lemon

spoonful of dijon mustard

olive oil

Step 1: Toast Bread:

Slice sourdough bread into 1/4 inch thick slices, place under a broiler and toast until gently toasted on one side only, 2 pieces per sandwich. 

Step 2: Make Mornay Sauce:

Mix 1 tbsp flour into 1 tbsp melted butter in a saucepan until thoroughly combined, mixing regularly as the roux foams until the raw flour scent dissipates. Then pour in 2 cups of cold milk, 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously and allowing to thicken. 

Add 1-2 oz grated Parmesan cheese (not shaker cheese, it won’t melt!), 1-2 oz grated Gruyere Cheese, and 1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg and 1/2 tsp of pepper (white pepper if available, but black pepper is fine). Allow to thicken and cool slightly. This is a mornay sauce. 

Warm Ham:

Warm thin slices of deli ham briefly under the broiler. Then assemble each sandwich as follows. 

Step 3: Assemble Sandwich and Broil:

Spread mornay on the untoasted side of the sourdough, then top with 1 oz grated gruyere. Then 4-6 slices of ham. Then gruyere, then mornay-spread bread on the top. Cover the entire top with more mornay and 1 more oz of gruyere, and place under a broiler (as close as possible without touching) until the top is lightly browned and bubbling. 

This is a croque monsieur. To make it a croque madame, top with a sunny side up egg. 

Step 4: Make Salad Dressing, Prep Salad Ingredients

Into a small bowl, juice one half of one lemon. Add 1 tsp dijon mustard. Begin whisking. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil, continuing to whisk all along until the dressing becomes emulsified. Taste - if the lemon flavor is too muted, add more. If it’s too intense, keep adding oil. 

Thinly slice 1/2 a green apple into batons. This can be done by slicing the apple into 1/8” slices. Stacking them up, and cutting them in 1/8” sticks. Thinly slice half a red onion into 1/8” slivers. 

Combine with bag of mixed lettuce greens to taste, and toss with just enough dressing to coat. 

Step 5: Assemble and Serve: 

To a plate, add your sandwich with a handful of salad. The heaviness of the croque is balanced by the light acidity of the salad, and the tartness of the apple. 

Simple classic bistro food.