Croque On This

Anyone who has ever visited France will know that the French take on the cheese and ham toastie is a palette's dream. Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame appear on all Parisian brasserie menus. This dish can be a transformed from a great snack to a hearty meal simply by accompanying it with a salad or a side of chunky chips (French fries) or both for the very hungry!

Ingredients

For one sandwich

2 slices of bread
2 slices of thick ham (tradition asks for welsh rarebit, but ham will do fine)
2 cheese slices (laughing cow is the best)
100g of grated cheese

Method

1. Place the cheese slices on one slice of bread
2. Then place the ham on top of the cheese
3. Place the 2nd slice of bread on top to make a sandwich
4. Sprinkle half the grated cheese on top of the bread
5. Place under a hot grill or in a toastie maker until the cheese on top just starts to melt
6. Take out from under the grill and turn over
7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on this side of the bread
8. Repeat grilling process until golden brown

Croque Madame

Simply place a fried egg on top of the Croque Monsieur to transform it into a Croque Madame. You can also add a couple of slices of tomatoes in the sandwich or on top.