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Croque madame

17/11/2023

The Croque Madame is a variation of the more famous Croque Monsieur, a typical hot French sandwich, distinguished by the addition of a fried egg on top. I will show you how to prepare a classic version of this dish, and if you wish, I can also suggest a small Italian twist!

Ingredients

  • 2 slices of crumb bread, preferably a bit thick
  • 2 slices of cooked ham
  • 50 g of grated Gruyère or Emmental cheese
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons of béchamel sauce
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Butter for frying

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (broil if possible).
  2. Prepare the béchamel sauce if you don’t have the ready-made one: melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, add a tablespoon of flour and stir until smooth. Then, slowly pour in hot milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook until it thickens and then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if you like.
  3. Toast the bread slices to make them slightly crispy.
  4. Spread a bit of béchamel on one side of each slice of bread.
  5. Then, distribute the grated cheese over the béchamel on just one bread slice, reserving some for the end.
  6. Place the cooked ham over the cheese and close the sandwich with the other slice of bread, béchamel side facing in.
  7. Put some butter in a pan and cook the sandwich on both sides until it is golden and crispy.
  8. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top and place the sandwich in the hot oven or under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese.
  9. In the meantime, fry an egg in a pan.
  10. Remove the sandwich from the oven, place the fried egg on top and voilà, the Croque Madame is ready.

To add an Italian touch, you might consider using smoked pancetta instead of cooked ham and perhaps replacing the Gruyère with buffalo mozzarella for a sweeter and stringier flavor, typically Italian.

Curiosity

The “Croque” in the name comes from the French word meaning “crispy”, referring to the crispiness of the bread after being toasted and gratinated. The “Madame” version with the egg symbolizes a woman’s hat, according to the classic interpretation of the difference between the Croque Monsieur and the Croque Madame.

Croque madame