Morel & Gruyère Croque Monsieur with Wild Garlic Béchamel

Ingredients

• ▸4 slices thick-cut brioche or pain de mie, about 1.5cm thick
• ▸120g dried morel mushrooms, rehydrated in 250ml warm water for 20 minutes
• ▸2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• ▸1 small shallot, finely minced
• ▸2 tbsp dry sherry or dry white wine
• ▸1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• ▸salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• ▸120g Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated, divided
• ▸2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ▸30g unsalted butter, for béchamel
• ▸2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▸300ml whole milk, warmed
• ▸40g wild garlic leaves (ramsons), washed and very finely chopped
• ▸pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• ▸20g Gruyère cheese, extra, for topping béchamel

Instructions

1. 1

   1. Rehydrate the morels: Place dried morels in a bowl with 250ml warm (not boiling) water. Let soak 20 minutes until soft and plump. Lift morels out gently — do NOT discard the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or coffee filter to remove grit. Roughly chop the rehydrated morels and set aside. Reserve 3 tbsp of the strained soaking liquid.

2. 2

   2. Sauté the morels: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tbsp butter until foamy. Add the shallot and cook 2 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the chopped morels and thyme, cooking 3 minutes until fragrant. Pour in the sherry and reserved morel soaking liquid, stirring and scraping up any fond. Cook until liquid is almost fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. 3

   3. Make the wild garlic béchamel: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 30g butter. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 90 seconds until the roux smells slightly nutty but has not browned. Gradually whisk in the warm milk in a thin stream, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens to a consistency that coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the finely chopped wild garlic leaves, nutmeg, and a generous pinch of salt. The residual heat will wilt the garlic and bloom its allicin compounds without destroying the bright green color. Set aside.

4. 4

   4. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) with the broiler/grill element ready to use at the end. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. 5

   5. Assemble the sandwiches: Lay all four bread slices on the prepared baking sheet. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on all four slices. Divide half the grated Gruyère (60g) between two of the slices, mounding it in the center. Spoon the morel mixture evenly over the Gruyère on those two slices. Top with the remaining 60g Gruyère, then press the other two mustard-side-down bread slices firmly on top to form two sandwiches.

6. 6

   6. First bake: Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake at 220°C for 8 minutes until the bread is beginning to turn golden and the cheese inside is melting. Remove from oven.

7. 7

   7. Top with béchamel: Spoon the wild garlic béchamel generously over the top surface of each sandwich, spreading it to the edges with the back of a spoon — be liberal, this is not the time for restraint. Scatter the extra 20g Gruyère evenly over the béchamel-topped sandwiches.

8. 8

   8. Broil to finish: Switch the oven to broil/grill on high. Return the baking sheet to the top rack and broil for 3-5 minutes, watching closely, until the béchamel is gloriously golden, bubbling, and spotted with dark caramelized patches. The wild garlic will have turned a vivid, lacquered green under the browned cheese.

9. 9

   9. Rest and serve: Allow sandwiches to rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes — the filling is volcanic. Slice diagonally and serve immediately, ideally with a small bitter green salad dressed with a sharp sherry vinaigrette to cut through the richness.

Variations

• ◆Drizzle 1 tsp of good black truffle oil over the béchamel just before broiling. It deepens the morel's earthiness without tipping the whole thing into truffle-oil-on-everything territory, provided you don't overdo it.
• ◆Swap aged Comté for the Gruyère and replace the wild garlic with a large bunch of finely snipped chives stirred into the béchamel. The result is milder and more herbaceous, and it's the right move in summer when wild garlic is out of season.
• ◆After broiling, slide a fried egg with a runny yolk straight onto each sandwich. The yolk breaks into the wild garlic béchamel and creates a third sauce situation that is genuinely chaotic in the best way, which is the croque madame version of this recipe.