The ultimate cheese and ham toastie. Rich and decadent and worth the extra effort of the bechamel sauce.
Makes 2 sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of good bread
- 25g butter
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 pack of Smoked Air Dried Ham
- 100g gruyere, grated
For the bechamel sauce
- 200ml milk
- 20g butter
- 20g plain flour
- nutmeg
- 1tsp Dijon mustard
Method
Step 1
Make your bechamel sauce. Melt the butter with the flour in a small pan and cook out, stirring to form a roux. Add your milk in stages (you can flavour your milk in advance with onion, bay and clove if you wish) stirring each addition in before adding the next. Add the Dijon mustard and bring to a gentle boil to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and grate in nutmeg to taste.
Step 2
Spread butter on one side of the bread (this will be the outside of the sandwich). On the other side lay some of the cheese, then lay half the pack of ham. Spread some Dijon on the ham and then top with a little more cheese before adding the other piece of bread.
Step 3
Place in a frying pan over a low to medium heat. Allow the bread to colour nicely before carefully turning. Once you've achieved a nice colour on both sides transfer to a baking tray, spread the bechamel on top and sprinkle with the last of the cheese. Grill this until the top is bubbling and brown and the cheese in the middle is melted and oozing!
Serve with fries or a salad or both
