A croque madame is a delicious French recipe, which sees a grilled ham and cheese sandwich get topped with a fried egg. Rich, indulgent and totally delicious, this is one of those recipes that you need up your sleeve on a Sunday morning, or after a long, hard day at work.
Ingredients (to serve 2):
- 4 slices of bread
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup of grated cheese, such as gruyere
- 2 slices of good quality ham
- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan. As it melts, stir in the flour. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Gradually stir in the milk, until you have a thick, smooth béchamel (whisk it in a food processor if the texture is lumpy).
- Sprinkle a handful of cheese into the béchamel, leaving the rest as it is.
- Thinly spread each side of every slice of bread with mayonnaise.
- Heat the remaining butter in the pan.
- Drizzle some béchamel onto the inside of each sandwich, then top with a handful of cheese and a slice of ham.
- Fry the sandwiches for 2 – 3 minutes, before turning and cooking the other side. Sprinkle a handful of cheese on top, so that it melts.
- Remove the sandwiches from the pan, and fry the eggs in the remaining butter. As soon as they’re cooked, place on top of each croque madame. Dig in immediately and enjoy.
Utterly delicious and not too tricky to make, the croque madame is the ideal weekend recipe.
