Croque Monsieur et Croque Madame

This Parisian cafe classic is the ultimate ham and cheese sandwich.  The Croque Madame is simply a traditional Croque Monsieur served with a fried egg and a bit of Béchamel sauce spooned over the finished sandwich. It’s a very easy recipe; if you’ve ever fried an egg for breakfast, you can make this Croque.

Preheat the broiler to the lowest heat setting. Evenly divide and spread the butter and/or mustard on 4 slices of bread. Place a few slices of ham, followed by a slice Gruyere, on the butter-mustard-side of the bread. Cover the cheese with the remaining slices of bread and spread the butter on the outside surfaces of the sandwiches

Preheat a skillet over medium heat to fry the eggs while the sandwiches broil, if making the Madame, if making the Monsieur omit the eggs. Fry one egg at a time, as desired. Place the sandwiches on an ungreased baking sheet and broil for about 5 minutes, turn them over, cover with the remaining cheese, and continue cooking until they are crispy and golden brown, about 5 additional minutes. Serve each hot sandwich with a fried egg and 1 tablespoon of Béchamel sauce on top.

This recipe makes 4 sandwiches.

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Croque-Monsieur
By Amanda Hesser
Croque-Monsieur
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Time
20 minutes
Rating
4
(553)
Notes
Read 75 community notes
While French restaurant and country cooking have been thoroughly examined by American home cooks, somewhere between the two styles lies a branch of cuisine that has been almost entirely missed: France’s bar and cafe food. This is the realm of snacks like tartines and rillettes, salads and savory tarts, and one of most delicious of all: the croque-monsieur (literally translated as “crunch sir.”)

Good croque-monsieurs have a few things in common: a single layer of French ham and Gruyere pressed between two thin slices of bread. Some, like this one, are filled and topped with béchamel, which makes the whole thing creamier and better. The bread is brushed with butter, and the sandwich is cooked on a griddle or toasted under a broiler so that the cheese almost liquefies and the bits of ham and cheese hanging out the side fall limp and caramelize. It should be rich, substantial and salty, so you will reach for a glass of wine or beer between bites.

Featured in: Born in a French Cafe, Growing Up in New York

LAUREN’S SKILLET VERSION-GRILLED HAM, BACON, CHEESE AND EGG SANDWICH

Preheat a nonstick fry pan with a large pat of butter on medium-high to high.   Scramble two eggs in a bowl and then cook in skillet but before they completely set, put two pieces of bread over the top.  When egg finishes cooking/setting, flip both pieces of bread and allow bread to toast on other side, as you add two slices of swiss cheese, a slice of ham, and two pieces of cooked bacon.  When melted, fold sandwich together.