Croque Madame with Broiled Mornay and a Runny Fried Egg

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A proper French café croque madame: thick white bread brushed with butter, layered with Dijon, good ham and Gruyère, blanketed in nutmeg-scented mornay, then broiled until the top blisters. A fried egg goes on last, timed so the yolk is still liquid and breaks over the hot cheese when you cut in. Knife and fork required.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 cup Gruyère, grated (about 3 oz)
• 2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• freshly ground white or black pepper

• 4 slices country white bread or brioche, cut 3/4 inch thick
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 6 oz thinly sliced deli ham (about 6 slices)
• 1 cup Gruyère, grated (about 3 oz)

• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• flaky salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the upper third. Line a small sheet pan with parchment or foil.
2. Make the mornay: melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes — it should smell faintly nutty but stay pale. Pour in the warm milk in three additions, whisking smooth after each. Simmer, whisking, for 4 to 5 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Off the heat, whisk in 1 cup Gruyère, the Parmesan, 1 teaspoon Dijon, the nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper until glossy and smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface so it doesn't skin over. You'll have about 1 3/4 cups.
4. Butter one side of each bread slice with the softened butter and toast, buttered side down, in a large skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until golden. Transfer to the sheet pan, toasted side up.
5. Spread 1 teaspoon Dijon on two of the slices (these are the bottoms). Divide the ham between them, ruffling the slices rather than laying them flat so the sandwich stays tall, then scatter with half of the 1 cup grated Gruyère. Close with the remaining slices, toasted side down.
6. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons mornay over the top of each sandwich, letting it run down the sides, then sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère. Bake for 8 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
7. Switch the oven to broil and move the pan 5 to 6 inches under the element. Broil 2 to 4 minutes, watching constantly, until the top is browned in patches and blistered. Leave the sandwiches on the pan while you cook the eggs — they hold their heat well.
8. Fry the eggs: melt 1 tablespoon butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Crack in the eggs, season the whites with salt and pepper, and cook 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, basting the whites with the butter, until the whites are fully set and opaque but the yolks still jiggle. Do not flip.
9. Slide an egg onto each sandwich immediately, while the cheese is still molten. Shower with chives, a pinch of flaky salt and a grind of pepper, and serve at once — cut through the center so the yolk floods the mornay.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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