What if you tried Jean-François Piège’s ultra-gourmet croque-monsieur?

The croque-monsieur turns out to be the ideal meal when we lack motivation. But in this cold period, it is also the perfect dish for a little comfort. This recipe seems, at first glance, simple but making a croque-monsieur is quite an art. Many chefs have taken advantage of this preparation to offer their own variation of croque. If Michel Sarran has become an expert in this field. Today, we are sharing Jean-François Piège’s recipe with you.

A fan of traditional cuisine, Jean François Piège decided to tackle a pillar of cuisine and in particular of bistronomy: the croque-monsieur. Here’s how to do it.

For 4 people, you will need:

• 80 g of Tomme d’Abondance
• 80 g of Comté aged 12 months
• 10 cl of liquid cream
• 8 slices of sandwich bread
• 8 slices of Emmental
• 8 slices of white ham
• 60g melted butter
• 4 eggs
• Sel

1. Start by grating the tomme and Comté cheese using a 4-sided grater.
2. Then, in a frying pan, bring the cream to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the cheeses and the hot cream, mixing everything with a whisk and remove.
3. Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese on one side of each slice of sandwich bread. Arrange a slice of Emmental cheese and a slice of white ham. Then, close each croque-monsieur.
4. Using a brush, butter the top of each croque monsieur with melted butter. Salt lightly. Cook each croque-monsieur in a pan with a knob of butter so that the bread becomes golden and crispy.
5. To transform your croque into a croque madame, add a fried egg cooked in the butter.
6. Finish with a twist of the pepper mill and it’s ready!

Enjoy your food !

A recipe taken from the book “The Great Book of French cuisine, bourgeois and popular recipes”, Jean-Francois Piège, 2020, Editions Hachette Cuisine.