Croque-monsieur and croque-madame

According to legend, the croque-monsieur was created by a Parisian café on Boulevard des Capucines. He appears for the first time in literature under the pen of Marcel Proust in In the shade of the flowering girls : "We stopped, my grandmother and I, to exchange a few words with Mme de Villeparisis, who announced that she had ordered "croque-monsieur" and "cream eggs" for us at the hotel. "

The recipe for the baked croque-monsieur, the base!

Traditionally, the "croque monsieur" is a sandwich prepared with ham and cheese (Comté or emmental), all between two slices of sandwich bread, seared in the pan or in the oven. And most often spread with béchamel. To make a homemade croque monsieur, here is our recipe.

Ingredients for 4 persons
– 8 slices of sandwich bread, it's better if it is slightly stale
– 60 g of soft butter
– 1 teaspoon of mustard
– 2 slices of ham
– grated cheese

How to make a croque monsieur in the oven?

• Step 1: Preheat the oven to 240 ° C.
• Step 2: Make the béchamel sauce (we explain how below).
• Step 3: Butter and lightly mustard 4 slices of white bread
• Step 4: Place a layer of béchamel, 1/2 slice of ham, béchamel and grated Gruyère cheese on top.
• Step 5: Close with the second slice of white bread and cover the croque-monsieur with béchamel and grated gruyère.
• Step 6: Place the 4 croque-monsieur on the baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, watching.

Enjoy with green salad.

Besides, you have not yet mastered the béchamel recipe, we give you a little help here on VIDEO:

Video by Claire

And the quick and easy version of the croque-monsieur?

You just have to ask !
To make quick croque-monsieur, you don't get complicated with a béchamel, but butter the slices of sliced ​​bread well and force the dose on the cheese. To make it soft, you can make a quick cream by mixing a little cream and grated cheese, which you will spread over the slices of bread. And here are croque-monsieur made in a few minutes!
For cooking the croque monsieur, in order to go even faster, you can grill them in the pan instead of placing them in the oven.

Where does the name "croque-monsieur" come from?

If no explanation has been verified to date, it seems that the word "crunches" meant toast soaked in egg. The first having been delivered in Parisian cafes at the request of customers, the misunderstanding would come from the waiters who added "Monsieur" at the end of each sentence.

And what about the croque-madame? The croque-madame is a version of croque-monsieur with a little extra: it is covered with a fried egg (or egg on horseback).

There is even a croque-mademoiselle ! Lighter than its parents, it is also made up of traditional slices of sandwich bread but between them, there is spreadable cheese, chives, cucumber and salad. It’s a kind of lighter, vegetarian croque-monsieur.

Fancy an original croque monsieur? 10 variants of super good croque-monsieur

Balance the sauce!
Sauce in a croque-monsieur, but yes, you had to think about it! Do not hesitate to wake up your usual crunches with sauces such as hollandaise sauce, crème fraîche or curry sauce! Not necessarily dietetic but ultra gourmet!

Mountain Maker
Farewell to Emmental and Comté, for an original croque monsieur recipe, let yourself be tempted by reblochon and Beaufort cheese to accompany your favorite piece of mountain charcuterie. But beware of Grisons meat, it is particularly salty.

Croque-monsieur by the way
By changing the cheese, you can take your croque around: mozzarella, cheddar, feta … Everything is good when it melts!

Salmon croque monsieur
Exit the ham, rather adopt a slice of smoked salmon with a hint of cream, all sprinkled with dill. If you want the crunch to be "madame", this time opt for a few fish eggs such as lump or salmon eggs.

Aperitif crunches
Opt for a fairly basic version of the croque-monsieur, but cut your croque into mini squares, perfect to taste for a dinner aperitif, aperitif or on a buffet.

French toast
Briefly dip your slices of white bread in an omelet before baking your croque in the pan, you will get a super full croque.

Italian crunches
Close to the panini (these Italian cooked sandwiches), all you have to do is replace the white ham with Parma ham or San Daniele, and the Emmental with mozzarella. The tomato is not a refusal.

Vegetarian croque monsieur
What if we added a touch of greenery to our croque-monsieur? We tried spinach under the béchamel or with a hollandaise sauce on a croque-madame, like Benedict eggs, and we recommend it. Just like the leek fondue, with the cheese and the ham, a pinch of nutmeg, and mmmm!

Croque monsieur leeks
Make a small fondue of leeks and slide a few pieces under your cheese, this vegetable goes wonderfully well with ham, béchamel and cheese.

Fruity crunch
With seasonal fruit and a little butter. Strawberries, kiwi, bananas: let your imagination do the rest. Or, with chocolate hazelnut spread that will melt in the toasted bread …

And the bread in all this?

Yes, we understand that the traditional monisuer crunch is made with sliced ​​bread, but to vary the pleasures, do not hesitate to shake up your habits. Country bread, English muffins, blinis … Do not back down from any fantasy! Finally, if you prefer to keep the bread as a base, do not hesitate to remove the 4 sides of crusts.

Other recipes of croque monsieur and croque madame…

Preferred devices

Certainly, if you do not have a waffle iron, you can always use a simple pan (yes, with butter to brown the sandwich bread, it works).
But to make crunches with sometimes pretty shapes, the device that also makes waffle iron is even better.
> We like it Godmorn, 4 in 1, whose plates can be changed, and at a low price: € 41.99 (and super well rated) on Amazon.
> This one is great for micro kitchens, the snacktime waffle maker Tefal (also interchangeable plates), € 60 on Amazon.

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