Croque Madame

Bonsieur!!! j'espère que vous allez bien!!

There is something about French, that the very air of anything French is like casting a love spell!!
 The food, language, art, culture, Wine(like duhhhh)  has romance,passion and class of highest degree incomparable(with an agrave).

Bloody hell they even have a kiss named to their credit!!!!!!Now that’s a seriously romantic affair!
From magnificent Chateau’s or to being the ultimate heavy weights in haute couture…YSL,chanel ,Givenchy,Dior –Yep all French .Affirmative.. ….the French surely does it in style!!!!

My strong conviction is that,  it’s those genes  that’s doing all the ,
“je ne sais quoi!!!!”
(The way the French would put it, with that air of pomp and much finesse)

 After all One must not forget the great lineage that includes none other than ,Louis XV - the black sheep as far as the French aristocracy is concerned ,he was definitely ahead of his time and could be easily deemed to be  one of the greatest  brand ambassadors of opulence and grandeur.
So this Valentine’s day we bring you CROQUE MADAME!!!!!
 This definitely has all the ingredients to make your man, go weak in all the right places;)  !!!)
So  un, deux, trios, Let’s get coookinggggggg!!!

Recipe

Croque madame is essentially a ham sandwich, served the French way with cheese and  bechamel sauce, with fried or poached eggs served on top of the sandwich. So we are going to give this baby a twist, by “gourmeting” it  by a notch! Its a tried, tested and approved recipe!

For the sandwich 
Egg
Crusty white bread
Ham slices
Bechamel sauce
Tortilla chips

For Sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes
 Mushrooms
Piccolini tomatoes
2-3 tbs Olive oil
1 Garlic globule
A bit Rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper for seasoning

For the bechamel sauce

 1 Tbsp butter

1tbsp Plain flour

220ml milk

1tsp Dijon mustard

A pinch of grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Melt the butter in a pan, slowly mix the flour into the melted butter and stir it until the mix is golden brown.

Pour in the milk, whilst continuously stirring the mix. Add the Dijon mustard and the grated nutmeg for flavor and season the bechamel with salt and pepper. Remove from the flame when the sauce becomes considerably thick and silky.

In a pan heat some olive oil, once the oil is hot saute the mushrooms along with some rosemary, thyme and a clove of garlic. Once the mushrooms are a bit fried add the piccolini tomatoes(I used the tomato on the vine as it would give a good impact when it comes to presentation and it does enhance the flavor) and saute it for around 3-4 mins on low flame, season with some salt and pepper.

 For the presentation, I cut my bread into round slices.

Spread the bechamel onto the slices and sprinkle grated cheese as well (I would say be generous with the cheese as it’s the all-important valentine’s day;) . Place the ham slice in between the slices of bread .Pop this into a  preheated oven for around  8 mins(until the bread is crispy ).

I fried the egg and cut the edges of the egg so that it would sit perfectly on top of the bread and added a huge dollop of bechamel and more Parmesan cheese to cover the egg yolk completely.(Adds drama to the presentation,as the egg is in complete disguised)

Now place the sandwich on the plate and add the sauteed mushrooms, piccolini tomatoes and place some tortilla chips as well.(Yes,tortilla chips,just to add the element of crunch and to make use of all those oozing sauces….trust me !!!it’s just heavenly!!!!!)

Bon Appetite!!