Croque Monsieur Casserole
Converting the French Croque Monsieur sandwich into an easy to make casserole means you can enjoy this French classic with a minimum of effort.
Equipment
- Oven safe casserole dish.
Ingredients
- ½ cup half & half or whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 12 slices soft white bread, crust removed
- 12 slices deli ham
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1½ cups half & half or whole milk
- freshly grated Nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 10 oz Gruyère cheese, grated
- fresh chopped parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- Grease oven safe casserole dish and set aside.
- Whisk together eggs and 1/2 cup milk. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Trim crust from slices of bread. Use 6 of the slices to line the bottom of the casserole dish. Cut slices in half if needed to make them fit the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
- Top bread with 6 slices of the deli ham. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Once butter has melted sprinkle in the flour. Use a whisk to stir together the flour and butter. Cook, stirring constantly for about a minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Add 1½ cups of half & half or milk to the pan.
- Add dijon mustard, freshly grated nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Whisk constantly until no lumps remain and bring mixture to a simmer and it thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Spoon half of the béchamel sauce evenly over the ham in the casserole dish.
- Top with the remaining 6 slices bread, cutting them to fit if needed.
- Pour the reserved egg mixture evenly over the casserole dish
- Top with remaining slices of ham and a layer of the remaining béchamel sauce.
- Top with the grated Gruyère cheese.
- Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and continue to cook until heated through, hot and bubbly, the cheese is completely melted, and the edges are a crisp golden brown.
- Allow casserole to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Top with freshly chopped parsley to serve.