Croque Monsieur Bagels

Ingredients

2 bagels
1 cup (235ml) whole milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon (15ml) Dijon mustard
2 pinches freshly ground nutmeg, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 thin slices Swiss cheese
8 thin slices deli ham
1 tablespoon (15g) Lewis Road Creamery 10 Star Butter

For Mornay Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (20g)
1 1/2 tablespoons (12g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)
55g finely grated Swiss or Gruyère cheese

Method

• 1

  Make Your Mornay Sauce: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown). Add flour and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Sauce will initially become very thick, then get very thin once all the milk is added.

• 2

  Heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.

• 3

  Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg to taste, if using. If any lumps form, simply whisk thoroughly to remove them and smooth out sauce, or use an immersion blender or countertop blender if lumps are particularly large or tough. Working in 2 or 3 additions, whisk in cheese, incorporating each addition just as the one before it is on the verge of fully melting; make sure to keep the heat low after the cheese goes in, as too much heat can cause the sauce to break.

• 4

  Remove from heat and set aside

• 5

  Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat oven to 230c. Meanwhile, using a serrated knife, make vertical cuts in each bagel, making sure not to cut all the way through.

• 6

  In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, mustard, and 1 pinch nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Soak each bagel in the batter for 1 minute, then turn and soak the other side for 1 additional minute; make sure the custard seeps into the slits. Lift soaked bagels and let excess batter drip off, then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

• 7

  Cut Swiss cheese slices to sizes that will fit inside the bagel slits. Wrap each cheese slice in an appropriately sized piece of ham. (Depending on how large they are, you may need to cut the slices of ham into halves or thirds to get them to the right size.) Wedge a ham-wrapped piece of cheese into each bagel slit.

• 8

  Remove cast iron skillet from oven and add butter. Allow to melt and foam, swirling pan so butter evenly coats the bottom, then add bagels, bottom side down. Transfer to oven and cook until cheese is melted and bagels and ham are browning in spots, about 10 minutes.

• 9

  Remove pan from oven. Switch oven to grill mode and place oven rack in top position. Pour Mornay sauce all over the tops of the bagels, then cook under broiler until browned and charred in spots, about 4 minutes, checking frequently to make sure they don't burn. Serve.