Start the day in style with the perfect Croque Madame. Buttery brioche is sandwiched with a cheesy bèchamel sauce and topped with a fried egg. The name comes from the fact the egg looks like a wide-brimmed hat perched on top of the sandwich!
Ingredients
Bèchamel sauce
- 30 g butter
- 30 g plain flour
- 300 ml milk
- 50 g Mainland Parmesan finely grated
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
To assemble
- 8 slices La Fournée dorée sliced brioche
- 50 g butter softened
- 8 slices Farmland Thin Sliced Glazed Ham
- 100 g Mainland Gruyère grated
- 4 Better Eggs size 8
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C.
- For the Bèchamel sauce: Warm the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, being careful it doesn’t brown.
- Add the flour and stir quickly. Stir and cook the flour and butter mixture for 5 minutes. Slowly add a few tablespoons of the warmed milk, stirring thoroughly to combine.
- Add the remaining milk and whisk until smooth. Cook until the bèchamel starts to bubble and thicken.
- Take off the heat, stir in parmesan, nutmeg, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Set aside while you assemble the sandwiches.
- To assemble: Butter one side of each slice of brioche and place 4 slices buttered side down in an oven dish.
- Spread each of these slices with 2-3 tablespoons of bèchamel sauce and two slices of ham.
- Place the remaining slice of brioche on top, buttered side up, and spread with the rest of the bèchamel sauce.
- Sprinkle with the grated gruyere cheese and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- When the Croque Madame sandwiches are nearly ready, fry 4 eggs until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Place a fried egg on top of each Croque Madame as soon as they come out of the oven and enjoy!