Brioche Croque Madame recipe

Croque Madame – the perfect indulgence for breakfast. Photo / Fresh Media

Kickstart the day with the perfect Croque Madame. Rich slices of brioche are sandwiched with a cheesy bèchamel sauce and topped with a fried egg. The name comes from the fact that the egg looks like a wide-brimmed hat perched on top of the sandwich!

Brioche croque madame

Serves 4

Ingredients

Bèchamel sauce

30g butter

30g plain flour

300ml milk

50g parmesan, finely grated

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

black pepper to taste

To assemble

8 slices of brioche

50g butter, softened

8 slices of glazed ham

100g gruyère, finely grated

4 large eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. For the bèchamel: Warm the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, being careful it doesn’t brown.
3. 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.
4. 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, salt and pepper. Set aside while you assemble the sandwiches.
5. Butter one side of each slice of brioche and place 4 slices buttered side down in an oven dish.
6. Spread each of these slices with 2-3 tablespoons of bèchamel sauce and two slices of ham.
7. Place the remaining slice of brioche on top, buttered side up and spread with the rest of the bèchamel sauce.
8. Sprinkle with the grated gruyere cheese and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
9. 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!

-fresh.co.nz