French · Authentic-ish French
Croque Monsieur
531 kcal a serving, against 967 for the traditional version. That is 436 kcal off, or 45%, with 32.2g of protein. Serves 4. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Thick slices of white bread heavily buttered on both sides. A thick layer of Gruyere cheese and cooked ham stuffed inside. The whole sandwich is fried in butter until golden. It gets transferred to an oven tray, covered in a rich bechamel sauce made with butter, flour and whole milk, then topped with another massive fistful of cheese and baked until bubbling.
What changed, and what each change costs
150g of butter down to 0g
Frying bread in butter makes it taste incredible, but it acts like a sponge. I grill the bread dry to get the crunch, and I make a butterless white sauce by toasting the flour in a dry pan before whisking in the milk.
What it costs you. You lose that greasy decadence. The edges of the sandwich are much drier and shatter when you bite them.
250g of Gruyere down to 100g
The traditional sandwich has a thick slab of cheese inside and another mountain on top. I strip out the middle layer completely and just use a sharp mustard and extra ham. The remaining cheese goes on top to bubble under the grill.
What it costs you. You don't get the classic molten cheese stretch when you pull the sandwich apart. The inside relies entirely on the ham and mustard for moisture.
Whole milk to semi-skimmed milk
Since I'm making a sauce without butter, swapping to semi-skimmed milk trims away unnecessary dairy fat. It still thickens up perfectly with the toasted flour.
What it costs you. The bechamel is noticeably less rich. It does the job of softening the top layer of bread, but it lacks the velvet texture of the original.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 967 | 531 |
| Protein | 42g | 32.2g |
| Fat | 60.5g | 17g |
| Saturated fat | 34.4g | 7.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 63.3g | 60.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.3g | 6.1g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish French prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk, mustard.
The method is in the book
What you've got is a sharp, meaty sandwich with a fantastic crust. A greasy late-night tavern snack is a different dish and you know where to find it. Piling all the cheese on top means you still get the hit of melted Gruyere exactly where you want it. The toasted flour sauce works brilliantly to soften the upper crust, while the bottom stays aggressively crunchy. I miss the fried butter slightly, but I prefer feeling awake after eating it.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish French, along with 54 more. Buy the paperback