Here is the great thing about a Croque Monsieur – you can have one sitting at a cafe beside a canal in Europe or you can make one in your home kitchen and they’re going to be equally delicious. I’ve done both, and I don’t love the home version any less than the canal-side cafe one… but what I do sometimes wish is that there was more of that deliciousness to go around. Like, what if you had a Croque Monsieur that was big enough to feed your entire family? Like an entire PIE of Croque Monsieur? That would be incredible. In fact, it IS incredible, because that’s just what we’ve got for you here – one giant circular Croque Monsieur to slice and serve to all your loved ones.
This is a layered affair, a little heartier than your traditional single serving of the sandwich, but that’s no problem at all. The process starts with cutting the crusts off of some white bread, which you’ll layer into a skillet, ideally a cast iron one. You’ll layer the bread with ham and then get to work on the bechamel.
Bechamel is a key component of any Croque Monsieur – it’s the creamy, cheesy sauce that coats every bite – and if you haven’t made one before, it’s very simple and a great technique to master. (It’s the base sauce for many macaroni and cheese recipes and other similar dishes too.) You just start by making a roux – that is, whisking some flour into some melted butter – and then adding in milk and letting it cook until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
From there you can add various cheeses or seasonings, but for our purposes, it will stay as-is and get poured over the ham and bread (plus one more layer of those) and then topped with plenty of gruyere and parmesan before the whole ‘pie’ heads into the oven. The finished product is like a giant bubbly, cheesy, oh-so-savory Croque Monsieur. I don’t know about you, but the only thing I’ve ever wished was different about a Croque Monsieur is that there were more of it. Luckily dreams do come true.
Croque Monsieur Pie
Yield(s): Serves 6
15m prep time
30m cook time
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
- 8 slices white bread, crusts trimmed off
- 10-12 slices ham
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups Gruyere cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a cast iron skillet or pie plate with butter or nonstick spray.
- Line prepared dish with 6 slices of the bread. Fold half of the ham and layer over bread.
- In a skillet or saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add flour and whisk 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the milk.
- Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper and cook until sauce starts to bubble and thicken.
- Stir in Dijon mustard, then spoon half of the sauce over the ham. Top with remaining slices of bread.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and remaining 1/2 cup milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture over bread in baking dish.
- Top with remaining ham, followed by the remaining bechamel sauce, and the gruyere and parmesan. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes.
- Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Food Network.