One of the simple and delicious French foods I enjoy is the Croque Madame. It is like a Croque Monsieur but with a fried egg on top. Although it might seem like a simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich, the layers with Mornay sauce make it especially rich and delicious. Also, it is very important to use good cheese for the best flavour! This recipe for Croque Madame is easy, and makes four servings. Sometimes, if we can’t eat them all, we save them and reheat in the air fryer the next day.
Ingredients
8 slices of white bread (pain de mie)
40g butter
150g emmental, grated
4 eggs
4 slices ham
Mornay sauce
Small bunch of chives, finely chopped
Mornay Sauce
25g flour
50g butter
400ml milk
Salt and pepper to taste
50g grated Gruyere cheese
3 Tbsp creme fraiche (optional)
Sprinkle of grated nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)
First, prepare the Mornay sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and make a roux. When the flour starts to brown slightly, add the milk a little at a time and whisk continuously. The sauce should start to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add grated nutmeg (optional). Finally, fold in the creme fraiche (optional) and gruyere. Mix well and set aside.
Next, butter each slice of bread. Put four slices of bread, butter side down, on a baking tray. Spread some cheese sauce on each piece. Next put a slice of ham on each piece of bread. Spread with more cheese sauce. Then top with a piece of bread with the butter side up. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake the croques for about 15 minutes in the oven. They should become crispy and browned. Remove the croques from the oven
Finally, fry four individual eggs and put one on top of each croque. Sprinkle with fresh chives. Serve hot!
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