I have been making croques monsieur sandwiches for my kids since they were eating finger foods. They always loved them and these sandwiches feel more like a full meal than most other sandwiches, especially the croques madame, which has the addition of an over easy egg.
Croques Madames sandwhiches start with soft French or sandwich bread, toasted in butter then layered with ham, dijon, Mornay sauce (béchamel sauce with cheese added), gruyere cheese and a fried egg, then the whole sandwich is topped with more Mornay and cheese and the baked/broiled until you have a cheesy, crunchy, creamy delicious sandwich.
These are actually pretty quick to make. The Mornay sauce is the only real cooking and it takes about 5 minutes. The combination of the salty, smoky ham with creamy cheese sauce and sharp dijon is truly delicious. I hadn’t made these in a while and I forgot how totally amazing they are. Definitely have to go back into my meal rotation.
Croques Madames
Ingredients
For the Mornay sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- 4 oz Gruyere cheese shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
For the sandwiches:
- 8 slices white sandwich bread
- 4-6 tbsp butter for toasting the bread
- 2-4 oz Gruyere or swiss cheese
- 8 oz high quality sliced ham
- dijon mustard
- 4 fried eggs
Instructions
- Make the Mornay sauce. Heat the 1 1/2 tbsp butter in a sauce pan until melted. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Slowly whisk in the milk to avoid lumps. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until read to use.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the rest of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bread and toast on both sides. Remove to a cookie sheet and spread half the bread with dijon mustard. Layer the other half with ham and cheese and spread some Mornay sauce over it. Close the sandwich and spread more Mornay on top and top with some more cheese.
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the sandwiches are hot all the way through and the cheese is melted. Broil for a minute or two if you want the cheese more browned on top. In skillet, fry the eggs while the sandwiches are cooking. After they are done, slip an egg into each between the bread and the ham (layer without cheese sticking to the bread). Cut in half and serve.
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