The French dismiss the croque madame and monsieur as junk food but well-made versions are delicious (Oli Jones)

I don’t know why croque madame is not as championed as her husband. Like the monsieur – essentially a cheese and ham toastie – the croque madame is also molten béchamel, lacy ham, Gallic and rich in the mouth. All that, and with a dapper egg on top, apparently resembling a lady’s hat. Both snacks used to be humble bistro fodder but on the internet you’ll find the French dismissing them as junk food and so industrialised they won’t touch them.

It would be a shame to see the well-made versions become extinct. Thankfully, they’re embraced elsewhere. In September, Alain Ducasse, of London’s Dorchester, deconstructed the madame, serving her as brioche soldiers toasted with York ham and aged Comté cheese. A pair of eggshells filled with rich scrambled eggs, melted Comté and finely diced ham went alongside.



In preparation for my recipe, I scrutinise the bread first. At his high-end Las Vegas bistro Bouchon, US legend Thomas Keller advocates using brioche. This gets my mouth watering. So it’s disappointing when I find the spongey texture too soft (and too sweet) for the deep, nutty savoury cheese, ham and egg. ‘Croque’ means crunch, so a contrast of crunch and softness is required.

Daniel Boulud is another culinary heavyweight from across the pond –he campaigns Pullman loaf bread, the classic white sandwich bread.


Michel Roux Jr, in his book The French Kitchen (W&N) backs good old sourdough. Certainly it’s crunchy but it is unyielding and doesn’t absorb the molten riches as well as the Pullman loaf. Pullman bread is the best of both worlds – it’s got bite when toasted but remains tender and enticing.

For turophiles, the cheese is the pulsating heart of the sarnie. Roux Jr has an unorthodox medley of Cheddar, Gruyère and Emmental.

Some believe Emmental melts to a smoother, more even consistency than Comté or Beaufort. I’m not sure. On eating Comté and Emmental I can’t decipher much difference in textures when melted. Parmesan is a another option.

I might be overly loyal to the Gallic cause but I think that only French Emmental or Comté should be used (Gruyère is Swiss). Not only do they have a goey texture when melted, they also impart an earthy alpine quality into the sarnie.

Binding everything, giving it that melt in the mouth sensation, is the béchamel sauce. I make identikits with and without nutmeg and find just a hint enhances the flavour.

One interesting deviation worth mentioning is that from British chef Gizzi Erskine. She spreads the bread with Dijon mustard, crème fraiche, cheese and ham, then tops it with the second piece, more crème fraîche and cheese. It’s an orgy of dairy.

Mustard adds much-needed heat. And the egg is the tiara to this queen of sarnies. Croque madame with quail’s egg is not unheard of. At this time of year, truffle shavings over the egg are possible

And finally: to toast or not to toast, that is the question. Some fry the bread. On bbc.co.uk, for example, Raymond Blanc fries for 1-2 minutes on each side, then bakes. In The Little Paris Kitchen (Michael Joseph), Rachel Khoo shares an interesting tip: she lines the bread in muffin tins so they become cups to hold the food. It’s so creative (and delicious) but the egg is hidden. I want her hat proudly on show, so this version’s got it firmly on her bonce.



CHLOE’S RECIPE

Ingredients: Serves 2

4 slices of white sandwich bread, crusts removed ♦ 3tbsp butter, melted ♦ 120g ham ♦ 2 eggs (bantam fit the top best) ♦ 70g cave-aged Comté cheese, grated ♦ 3tsp Dijon mustard

For the mornay sauce: 1tbsp butter ♦ 1tbsp plain flour ♦ 100ml-120ml milk, lukewarm ♦ ½tsp nutmeg ♦ 1 clove ♦ 1 bay leaf ♦ 50g cave-aged Comté, grated ♦ salt and pepper

METHOD Step 1 For the sauce: Melt butter in a pan. Add flour and stir until you have a smooth paste. On a very low heat, drizzle in the milk. Add the clove and bay leaf and continue to sir constantly. Then start adding the grated cheese. Gently cook on a low heat until you have a creamy sauce. If it seems too thick, pour in a little more milk. Grate in the nutmeg. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Once the sauce thickens, take off the heat and remove the clove and bay leaf.

Step 2 For the sarnie: Put the oven/grill setting on 180C. Toast the bread slightly in the toaster. Melt a generous knob of butter in a small frying pan. Dip the lightly toasted bread in the butter on one side. This avoids crushing the toast and destroying the all-important crunch. Keep the buttered pan for your eggs. Now spread the two bottom slices for your two croque madames very carefully all the way to the edge with 1tbsp to 1.5tbsp of Dijon mustard each – you want mustard in every mouthful. Top the two pieces with equal amounts of ham and grated cheese. Top with the remaining slices. Spread the mornay sauce across the top of both madames. Grill in the oven for 15min, until bubbling.

Step 3 Meanwhile, fry the eggs sunny side up and drip any residue butter from the toast on the egg yolk as a baste. Pop an egg on each sandwich. Sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

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