Egg-cellent recipes

Foodie, Louis Yammine started cooking as a hobby that turned into a cooking show in the UAE, an E-book and now a consulting company, creating and revamping menus for restaurants, cafes and hotels

Croque Madame with bacon béchamel

This sandwich is one of my favorite brunch meals. To make it all from scratch (which is always better) you need to make your own béchamel, bake your own bread and cure your own ham! However, for a more simple way of doing this fantastic sandwich, deli ham and ready made fresh bread works just fine. Here’s my recipe for a homemade Croque Madame, with a dude’s twist on the béchamel.

INGREDIENTS

250g cured ham 200g mountain cheese (Swiss Gruyere Picante,

Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar, Conte or Kashkaval) 2 tbsp bacon béchamel 1 tsp grain mustard (moutarde a l’ancienne) Ciabatta bread 1 fried egg

Bechamel Sauce

2½ cups whole milk 2 tbsp butter 1/3 cup all-purpose flour ¼ onion, peeled (optional) 1 whole clove Coarse salt to taste Ground black pepper, to taste Pinch of ground nutmeg 2 bacon strips baked and diced finely

PREPARATION

Lightly toast the ciabatta bread with a drizzle of olive oil. Spread the mustard on the base bread and top with slices of ham. Grate the cheese, and sprinkle generously on top of the ham. Sprinkle a little bit of left-over cheese on top of the bread, and place both breads open faced (do not make a sandwich yet) in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden brown. This should take around 4-6 minutes. Meanwhile fry the egg on medium-low heat with butter or oil. Once the sandwich is ready, remove from the oven, place the top bread on the ham and cheese and generously spread the bacon béchamel on top of the sandwich. Slide the fried egg on top of everything and serve.