Croque Monsieur à la Bill Granger

Bill Granger is my favourite celebrity chef in Australia. He is a self-taught chef, restaurateur and food writer. His breakfast recipes Ricotta Hotcakes and Scramble Eggs are almost legendary.

He owns three restaurants in Sydney:

Bills at Darlinghurst
Bills Surry Hills
Bills Woollahra

I am fortunate enough to be able to frequent his various restaurants usually on sunny Saturday mornings for brunch.

He has opened his first operation outside of his native Australia in Japan, simply called Bills Japan.

"Mention bills in New York, London or San Francisco, and you'll find die-hard fans who wouldn't dream of visiting Sydney without eating there." - US Gourmet, December 2004

You can read his interview with fellow Aussie Food Blogger Not Quite Nigella here:

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/05/04/bill-granger-interview/

I love using his recipes for Sunday breakfast, brunch or lunch because they are so simple to make. His recipes are also very well liked by my friends and family members.

Croque Monsieur à la Bill Granger Recipe
Serves 4
(Recipe adapted from Bill s Open Kitchen: Ham and Gruyere French Toast)

Ingredients

4 eggs
185ml (3/4 cup) milk
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 slices white bread, 3cm (1 1/4 inch) thick
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 slices leg ham, trimmed to fit bread* (see note at bottom of post)
4 slices Gruyere cheese, trimmed to fit bread* (see note at bottom of post)
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F / Gas 4). Place the eggs and milk into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
2. With a sharp, thin-bladed knife, carefully slit open one side of each slice of bread to form a pocket, leaving 1 cm (1/2 inch) around the edges. Spread the mustard on one side of the pocket and place a slice of ham and cheese inside. Put the pockets into a shallow dish. Pour over the egg mixture and leave for 5 minutes, turning once.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat, add half of the olive oil and swirl to coat the base of the pan. Add two bread pockets, cook on one side for about 2 minutes until golden brown, turn and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and place on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining oil and bread pockets. Place the baking tray in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until cooked in the centre.

Note: I always try to use ingredients that are available in my pantry and fridge. For this recipe, I replaced the ham and Gruyere cheese with shaved Silverside (beef) and Dutch Gouda cheese.