The famous “Croque Monsieur”: recipe and methods for preparing the sandwich

French cuisine is famous for its original cold appetizers. Many of them eventually gained popularity in other countries of the world. Take, for example, the very tasty Croque Monsieur sandwich. The recipe for its preparation is interesting and at the same time quite simple. In addition, the dish itself also has a telling name. After all, “croc” translated from French means “crunch.” This is the whole essence of the product itself. It is designed for men who like to crunch with taste.

Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame

Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame are traditional French sandwiches baked in a creamy sauce. Sandwiches are so impressive and satisfying that you can even serve them as a main course.

Unlike most French dishes, croque madame and croque monsieur are prepared very simply, however, like everything French, the dish turns out to be very graceful, elegant and unusual. It would seem like ordinary sandwiches - but how they were prepared and served!

Ingredients:

Butter - 5 tbsp.
Flour - 2-3 tbsp.
Milk - 2 cups
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tsp.
Fresh thyme - 1 tsp.
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp.
Salt, pepper - to taste
White bread - 8 slices
Dijon mustard - 4 tsp.
Hard cheese – 120 g
Ham – 400 g
Grated Parmesan - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 4 pieces

How to cook:

Melt 2 tbsp in a frying pan. butter. Add flour to melted butter. Beat over medium heat for about 20 seconds until a beige mixture forms. Pour in milk. Whisking slowly, heat the mixture until it begins to bubble. Add Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Warm up, remove from heat and cover with a lid. Grease the slices of bread with mustard. Add ham and grated cheese. We put a little more cheese on the ham and cover the sandwich with a second slice of bread. Fry the sandwiches in butter until golden brown on both sides. Generously pour the toasted sandwiches with the creamy sauce we prepared. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake the sandwiches in the oven until the crust is golden. Watch the sandwiches very carefully - they will burn instantly! Actually, the croque-monsieur is ready. However, we will also prepare a croque madame. Fry eggs (one at a time) in butter. Place the fried egg on our baked sandwich, sprinkle with herbs - and the croque madame is ready. Serve hot.

Preparing the sauce

To prepare the appetizer, you must first make the sauce. It's called Mornay and is a logical continuation of bechamel. Both are included in the list of five basic sauces in French cuisine. The only difference between Mornay and bechamel is that the first is prepared with the addition of cheese, and the second without it.

In order to prepare the sauce that you will need in the croque monsieur recipe, you need to take the following products:

200 ml cream;
1 tablespoon flour;
50 g butter;
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg;
1 egg yolk;
a small piece of Gruyere cheese (or Parmesan, Emmental);
salt.

The cheese needs to be grated on a fine grater. Place a small bowl on the fire, put butter in it and melt. Add flour to it and mix well so that there are no lumps left.

You need to let the flour fry a little, then add cream to the mixture and leave on the fire again, stirring constantly. Cook the sauce until it thickens. Then add a little salt, add cheese and chopped nutmeg. When the cheese is completely melted, remove from heat and cool slightly. Then add the yolk and mix well. Mornay sauce for croque monsieur is ready.

How to make a Croque Madame sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread – 80g 4 slices
Mustard – 10g Dijon or grain
Hard cheese – 80g
Ham – 60g
Egg – 4 pcs.
Sunflower oil – 20g

Preparation:

Prepare products according to the list. Thinly slice the bread. You shouldn’t cut the bread into thick slices; the sandwiches are already quite tall. Cut the cheese and ham into thin slices so that they are the same size as the pieces of bread. Traditionally, the Croque Madame sandwich is made with Emmental or Gruyere cheese, but you can use any cheese, as long as it is firm and melts well. Instead of ham, you can take carb meat or even pieces of roast beef, baked chicken or turkey. You can also take absolutely any bread - the one you like best.

Heat a frying pan well and dry the pieces of bread on each side without adding oil. This can also be done in a toaster or oven. Then spread mustard on one side of each piece of bread.

Divide the cheese into equal four parts, and the ham in half. Place a quarter of the cheese and half of the ham on one piece of bread, then top with another quarter of the cheese. Repeat the same with the second piece. Cover each piece of bread with a second piece to create a closed Croque Madame sandwich.

Break 2 eggs into a deep plate, stir well until smooth. Dip the resulting sandwiches into the eggs and wet them on all sides.

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5.
Heat a frying pan well with the addition of sunflower oil and place the sandwiches on it. Fry on each side for 3 minutes.

Gently break the remaining 2 eggs into the same frying pan and cook the scrambled eggs so that the yolk remains runny if possible.

7. Croque Madame sandwiches are ready. Place a scrambled egg on top of each sandwich. If you make these sandwiches without the scrambled eggs, you'll end up with another French classic: the Croque Monsieur sandwich. Serve sandwiches, if desired, with vegetable salad and bechamel sauce. Bon appetit!

Sandwich "Croque Monsieur"

Croque Monsieur was invented in 1910 in Paris, in a cafe on the Boulevard des Capucines, next to the Opera. Originally, a “croque” (in French “croque” means “take a bite”) was a piece of bread dipped in beaten eggs and fried in a frying pan. It probably became the predecessor of the Croque Monsieur sandwich. By the way, “Croque Monsieur” is almost a legend. The great writer Marcel Proust mentions him in his novels. And what Parisian student hasn’t soiled the pages of his textbooks while holding a Croque Monsieur? The recipe was found in the book “Eating the French Way.”