Party Croques
This is a really great recipe for feeding the masses at a Christmas or New Year’s Eve drinks party. The key is to buy the best-quality ham, bread and Gruyère possible.
Recipe - Sallins - Reilly/Molloy/Mulroe
Party Croques
Prep Time15 Minutes
Servings12
Cook Time90 Minutes
Ingredients
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard for spreading
100 g Emmental Cheese grated
200 g Gruyere Cheese sliced
2 - Loaf of Bread fairly dense and chewy
40 g Low Fat Butter softened
500 g SuperValu Cooked Ham cut into medium-thick slices
50 g Butter
50 g Gruyere Cheese grated
500 ml Low Fat Milk
1 pinch Nutmeg freshly grated
50 g Plain Flour
1 pinch White Pepper
Directions
- First make the béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan set over a medium–high heat. Add the flour and cook it out for 2 or 3 minutes, but don’t let it brown. Pour in the cold milk and whisk constantly – don’t stop until it comes together and coats the back of a spoon. Turn down the heat and stir in the grated Gruyère until it melts, then season with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and white pepper.
- Cut the bread into 24 slices in total. Lightly toast one side of the bread and lightly butter the other side. Spread the buttered side generously with mustard, then top with a slice of ham, a slice of Gruyère and a spoonful of the sauce. Top the sandwich with another slice of bread, toasted side up. Repeat for all 12 sandwiches.
- Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal with a sharp knife, then arrange the sandwiches on the trays. Pour over the remaining sauce, then scatter over the grated Emmental.
- The croques can now be left to soak up the sauce before being reheated at 140°C/gas mark 1 later on in the evening. The cooking time can be anywhere from 30 minutes if you want the croques to still be quite moist all the way up to 90 minutes for a crisp croque with a concentrated flavour.
15 minutes
Prep Time
90 minutes
Cook Time
12
Servings
Shop Ingredients
Makes 12 servings
Colman's Mustard Original English (100 g)
€1.95€19.50/kg
SuperValu French Emmental Cheese (150 g)
€1.79€11.93/kg
SuperValu French Gruyere (200 g)
€3.40€17.00/kg
Not Available
Not Available
SuperValu Irish Ham Family Value Pack (320 g)
€3.29€10.28/kg
Not Available
SuperValu French Gruyere (200 g)
€3.40€17.00/kg
SuperValu Light Milk (1 L)
€1.15€1.15/l
Schwartz Whole Nutmeg (25 g)
€3.05€122.00/kg
SuperValu Plain Flour (2 kg)
€2.75€1.38/kg
Not Available
Directions
- First make the béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan set over a medium–high heat. Add the flour and cook it out for 2 or 3 minutes, but don’t let it brown. Pour in the cold milk and whisk constantly – don’t stop until it comes together and coats the back of a spoon. Turn down the heat and stir in the grated Gruyère until it melts, then season with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and white pepper.
- Cut the bread into 24 slices in total. Lightly toast one side of the bread and lightly butter the other side. Spread the buttered side generously with mustard, then top with a slice of ham, a slice of Gruyère and a spoonful of the sauce. Top the sandwich with another slice of bread, toasted side up. Repeat for all 12 sandwiches.
- Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal with a sharp knife, then arrange the sandwiches on the trays. Pour over the remaining sauce, then scatter over the grated Emmental.
- The croques can now be left to soak up the sauce before being reheated at 140°C/gas mark 1 later on in the evening. The cooking time can be anywhere from 30 minutes if you want the croques to still be quite moist all the way up to 90 minutes for a crisp croque with a concentrated flavour.