Copy Cat ‘New Look’ Truffle Croque Monsieur

As promised, this week I am going to show you how to re-produce in your own home kitchen in India, what is without a shadow of a doubt, a bite of heaven on the taste buds …

… for anyone who has been following my instagram handle, a few weeks ago I reported back from Paris when I tasted this truffle croque monsieur, christened the ‘New Look’, at Monsieur Dior restaurant located inside the flagship Dior boutique, and it was all the more special since I had just finished watching the ‘New Look’ series on Apple TV.

Above: Image of The ‘New Look’ Truffle Croque Monsieur, at Monsieur Dior Restaurant, Paris, France

Anyhow, it was so good that I swore to myself I would not only find a way of reproducing it back home in New Delhi but also teach you how to make it yourself, and so without much further ado, here below is the recipe and step by step instructions, but first and foremost an image of the magic ingredient, which may either be ordered online from damatifoods.com, or else do pick up a stash when in Italy and bring it back with you.

Above: Salsa Tartufata, available online from damatifoods.com

For those who don’t already know, a croque monsieur is essentially a French grilled Ham & cheese with bechamel, aka white sauce; however this version is not only lighter but in my opinion far more delicious, mainly because it is without any white sauce, which from the research I have done, is the traditional way of making it.

Ingredients

The technique I am going to show you in fact renders this a truffle, ham & cheese French toast, for which, apart from the truffle salsa pictured above, you will need the following ingredients, as shown in the image below; other than the mustard, all of them local i.e. unsliced milk bread from your local bakery, (the one I have used is from Defence Bakery, Shop 34, Defence Colony Market, New Delhi 110024), La Carne Pork Heritage Ham (a local brand belonging to Primo foods pvt. Ltd, which is widely available in most grocery stores that have a cold food section, but you can use any ham of choice), Gruyere Cheese from local brand Amiksa (the same brand restaurant NAAR is using for their cheese platter), and ordinary Amul Butter.

YIELD: 4 portions of 2 triangle sandwiches per head.

• 4 slices of Milk Bread (each slice 3 inch x 3 inch x ¾ inch thick)
• 8 tablespoons of grated cheese – approx 50g) i.e. 2 tablespoons per slice of bread
• 4 teaspoons (20g) melted butter i.e. 1 teaspoons per slice
• 4 teaspoons (20g) mustard i.e. 1 teaspoon per slice
• 4 teaspoons (20g) salsa tartufata
• 2 slices ham i.e. ½ slice per slice of bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water

Method

Start by grating the cheese on the finest teeth of the grater and set aside. (STEPS 1 & 2)

Then slice the bread, 3/4 inch thick and trim down the sides,to 3inch by 3 inch. (STEPS 3, 4, 5 & 6)

Next take one slice of ham at a time and cut each slice into approximately 12 pieces, which will make the cutting and eating of the triangles much easier later on. (STEPS 7, 8 & 9)

Then brush each slice of bread with melted butter (either with a pastry brush or simply by drizzling and spreading using a simple teaspoons). (STEP 10)

Then spread with mustard, (STEPS 11 & 12) and with the truffle salsa, both simply using the back of a teaspoon (STEPS 13 to 16). Don’t worry about the mess; now place your ham pieces on the bread (STEP 17), then the cheese, pressing down firmly but not too heavily. (STEPS 18, 19 & 20)

Then carefully place one slice over the other, and again press down firmly but be careful not to deform the sandwiches (STEPS 21 & 22). Repeat with the other and then place both in a clean plate, ready for the next stage. (STEP 23)

The next stage is to egg dip your sandwiches, for which you will break 2 room temperature eggs into a bowl, add 1 tablespoon cold water and whisk with a fork (STEPS 1 & 2). Then place each sandwich one at a time into the bowl for 10 seconds per side (STEPS 3 & 4), lift, let the extra egg drip off (STEP 5), and then immediately place in a non-stick pan (STEP 6), which you have already pre-heated over low heat 3 minutes earlier. Repeat quickly with the second sandwich. (STEP 7)

Then press down with a spatula, (STEP 8) flip and press down again, and continue to do this every minute or so, until the bread has toasted, turned golden brown and the cheese is just beginning to ooze from the sides. (STEPS 9 & 10)

Then lift them out onto your chopping board, (STEP 11) let them rest for 30 to 45 seconds, and using a serrated knife, slice diagonally twice into 4 triangles. (STEP 12)

Now, you can either serve one or two each on individual plates, or else on a serving platter, topped with a tiny drop of truffle salsa (I mixed a bit of double cream into one set, but this is not necessary), and crowned with some washed and dried micro-greens. Here below are all your serving options, one set without ham, to make it conducive for vegetarians … and voila, a big fat Bon Appetit to you … THE END

Above: Images of Presentation options