Croque monsieur - delicious. magazine

Ingredients

• 30g unsalted butter, plus a little more, softened, for buttering
• 1 shallot, very finely diced
• 1 small bay leaf
• 30g plain flour
• 280ml whole milk
• 1 tsp dijon mustard, plus more for spreading on the toast
• A few gratings of nutmeg
• 2 thick slices of really good ham, smoked if you prefer it
• 100g gruyère or comté cheese, or a mixture of the two, grated
• 4 slices of white bread, with the crusts cut off