Today’s Ham and Cheese the French Way is a fun way to turn an ordinary sandwich into something special. Covered with luscious cheesy sauce and extra melted cheese, it’s a winner of a sandwich!
Did you know that France’s Bastille Day, their equivalent of America’s 4th of July, is celebrated on July 14? It is the largest party in France … offices in Paris are closed, and everyone throws parties and dances in the streets while fireworks shoot out of the Eiffel Tower. C’est magnifique!
These sandwiches bring out the child in me. Mmmm, grilled cheese sandwiches served alongside bowls of steaming hot tomato soup – it’s the meal that speaks to my heart like no other. I am instantly transported back to my childhood, swinging my feet under the chair because they don’t reach the ground. I no longer have adult responsibilities and life is simpler. If only it were that easy to turn back the clock.
If we had grown up in France instead of America, we would have asked for Croque Monsieur ham and cheese sandwiches. Ham with shredded Gruyere and a creamy bechamel sauce poured over the top. And if we were living large, it would have been a Croque Madame which is the same sandwich with a fried egg on top. Comforting, satisfying, and incredibly rich, either of these makes the perfect meal for kids and adults alike.
One thing that really sets this apart from ordinary ham and cheese sandwiches is the cheesy white sauce that you pour over the top and then broil until bubbling and melted. The blending of the creamy, smooth bechamel sauce and grated Gruyere is brilliant. The natural bite of the cheese is mellowed by the lush sauce and the two together are addicting. If you cannot find Gruyere, Swiss-style cheeses will work. Talk about decadent! The French really know how to live.
When the cheeses melt in the sauce, it gets quite stringy. If it is too thick, whisk in small amounts of milk (no need to warm it) until the sauce becomes smooth. You want it fairly thick so it will stay on top of the sandwiches when you spread it over the bread.
If you want, you can cut the crusts off before toasting the bread for a sandwich that is easier to cut. When the sandwiches are served with the cheese sauce ladled over the top, they can get pretty messy and are much easier to eat with a fork and knife.
This may not be the recipe you want to make on a regular basis because it is loaded with a lot of ooey, gooey cheese. But once in a while, when the mood strikes and you just need a little self-indulgence, this is definitely the way to go!
This is one of the quintessential French dishes that we enjoyed during our visits to Paris. One bite and I am back alongside the Seine, watching people as we sit outside a little bistro. Listening to the chatter of people deep in conversations in French – not understanding a word but getting the nuances of emotions.
I love the simplicity of these Ham and Cheese sandwiches, so common in France and a vast improvement over what we normally eat here. For a fun French experience, definitely give this a try. I hope you enjoy your Bastille Day celebrations!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Ham and Cheese the French Way:
- Cheese Sauce: milk, butter, flour or GF flour blend or sorghum flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, Gruyere cheese, Parmesan
- Sandwiches: French bread or GF sandwich bread, Dijon, ham, parsley
PRO Tip:
Pre-grated softer cheeses, like cheddar and Swiss, may be convenient but they are not the best choice for sauces. The additives they contain to help keep the strands from sticking together during packaging also prevents it from melting smoothly. Buy blocks of cheese and shred it yourself for the best sauces. The exception is hard cheeses like Parmesan – those you can buy pre-grated and save you some time. But PLEASE don’t buy the stuff in the green can – it isn’t real cheese.
You can shred the cheese by hand, but if you have a food processor with a shredding disk, now is the time to pull it out. I can shred the cheese for this recipe in about 30 seconds, saving me and The Artist a lot of work. But if you have little ones who want to help, this is a good job for them – supervised of course. Make sure the block is big enough to protect their knuckles or better still use a rotary shredder!
How to make Ham and Cheese the French Way:
- Make the Cheese Sauce: Heat the milk to a low simmer; pour into a heatproof measuring cup with a spout and set aside. Wipe out the saucepan and place over low heat with the butter. When melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly until it smells slightly nutty. Whisking vigorously, slowly pour in the hot milk until there are no lumps and cook until the sauce is thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup (57g) of the grated Gruyere and all the Parmesan, stirring until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Toast the Bread: Cut the crusts of the bread if desired and place on a baking sheet or two and bake for 5 minutes at 400°F (204°C). Flip and toast the second side for about 2 more minutes. Or you can use your toaster, toaster oven, or the toasting feature on your oven.
- Assemble and Cook the Sandwiches: Lightly brush half the bread slices with the mustard on one side, top with some ham slices and evenly sprinkle with half of the Gruyere. Top each with another piece of toasted bread to make 8 sandwiches.
- Ladle the cheese sauce over the top of each sandwich, sprinkle with remaining Gruyere and slide the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 5 minutes to warm the ham.
- Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the topping is bubbly, melted, and just starting to brown in spots. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.
PRO Tip:
Remember that the sauce will thicken as it stands, so make it just a touch thinner than you want the final product to be.
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Gluten-Free Tips:
I recommend replacing the all-purpose flour with either sorghum flour or a GF flour blend. You can use the sorghum 1:1, but the blends contain starches. You don’t need as much for thickening. In addition to reducing the amount of the flour by 1 tbsp, you may need to add a little more milk. Remember that the sauce will thicken as it stands, so make it just a touch thinner than you want the final product to be.
*You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Ham and Cheese the French Way (Gluten-Free)
This is a delicious upgrade to the ordinary and comforting grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. This time I made them the way the French do - dressed up with extra cheese and an amazing creamy cheese sauce melted over the top!
Ingredients
Bechamel/White Sauce
- 2 cups (473 ml) milk, plus more if needed
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp sorghum flour or all-purpose flour, or 2 tbsp Gluten-Free Flour blend *
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black or white pepper
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 5 cups (565g) freshly grated Gruyere cheese, divided (see PRO Tip above)
- 1/2 cup (50g) freshly grated Parmesan
Sandwiches
- 16 slices French bread or gluten-free sandwich bread
- Dijon mustard, preferably Edmond Fallot brand, made in Dijon, France
- 8 oz (227g) sliced ham, the kind in the deli case work well; Boar’s Head brand is usually gluten-free
- Minced fresh parsley, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Note: If your oven has a “Toasting” feature, you can use that instead.
- Make the Sauce: Place the milk in a saucepan and warm over medium heat to just below a simmer. There will be tiny bubbles around the edges of the pan and steam rising from the milk’s surface. Pour into a heatproof glass measuring cup with a spout. Wipe out any residual milk sugar in the bottom of the pan.
- Place the same saucepan over low heat and add the butter. When the butter is fully melted, whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until the raw flour aroma is gone and the mixture begins to smell slightly nutty. Whisking vigorously, slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, until the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Get the sauce as thick as you want now because you cannot boil it once the cheese is added. This is a Bechamel sauce.
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup (57g) of the grated Gruyere, and all the Parmesan, stirring until smooth. This is now called a Mornay sauce (a cheesy white sauce). Set aside.
- Toast the Bread: Cut the crusts off the bread slices if desired and place on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes. Flip each slice over and bake for another 2 minutes, or until toasted and browned on both sides. You can also use your toaster if you prefer, using the oven is just faster.
- Assemble and Cook the Sandwiches: Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard on one side, place a slice or two of ham on top of the mustard, and evenly sprinkle with HALF of the remaining Gruyere. Top each with another piece of toasted bread to make 8 sandwiches.
- Ladle the cheese sauce over the top of each sandwich, sprinkle with the remaining grated Gruyere, and slide the baking sheet back in the oven. Bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes to warm the ham.
- Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly, melted, and just starting to brown in spots. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.
- NOTE: Gluten-free flour blends contain starches that maybe more efficient thickeners than plain flours. You may not need as much if you are using a GF flour blend. Add a bit more milk if needed.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
*You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1101Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 175mgSodium: 3172mgCarbohydrates: 114gFiber: 5gSugar: 10gProtein: 74g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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