Deluxe Croque Madame

This recipe for croque madame is unlike any you’ve seen before. This classic French dish features gooey cheese and ham between two slices of bread, and gets topped with an egg. Here it gets a luxurious upgrade, with additions of avocado, arugula and tomatoes for some balance. We also use sourdough bread as our base, ensuring a sturdy base for all these ingredients. The richness of the classic combined with the freshness of this deluxe version is sure to be for breakfast or brunch.

What cheese is traditionally used in a croque madame?

What’s the difference between a croque monsieur and a croque madame?

While both are French sandwiches featuring gooey cheese and ham, there is one fundamental difference. A croque madame gets topped with a poached or fried egg.

Deluxe Croque Madame

Crispy sourdough toast gets stuffed with ham, gooey cheese, fresh veggies and topped with a fried egg.

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Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan

Ingredients

• 8 slices sourdough bread
• 200 mL crème fraîche
• 2 cups grated cheese preferably Gruyère
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 300 g ham sliced
• 4 eggs
• 2 avocados halved, peeled and sliced
• 4 tomatoes sliced
• 100 g arugula

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Toast sourdough slices on both sides.
• In bowl, mix together crème fraîche, grated cheese and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread a little more than half the cheese mixture on 4 of the sourdough slices and place ham slices on top. Layer with the remaining 4 sourdough slices and spread the remaining cheese mixture on top. Place in oven for about 1 minute to get a gratin effect on the cheese.
• In frying pan, cook eggs to your preference.
• To serve, top each sandwich with avocado and tomato slices and 1 fried egg. Season with salt and pepper. Top with handful of arugula.

Keyword brunch