Lockdown Cookup: Alain Ducasse’s Croque Monsieur Recipe Is Fuss-Free Brekkie Fuel

PUBLISHED May 11th, 2020 06:00 am | UPDATED May 31st, 2020 05:26 pm

The brunch withdrawal symptoms are sure hitting hard, aren’t they? To help you cure those toasty cravings, here’s a Parisian café staple from none other than the 17-Michelin-starred maestro of French cuisine – Alain Ducasse. Famed as the current bearer of the most Michelin stars in the world, chef Ducasse shared his recipe for Croque Monsieur on his culinary platform, L’Académie du Goût, back in 2015.

Gooey cheese plus smokey ham – it’s a simple formula for sandwich heaven. In chef Ducasse’s streamlined recipe, the more elaborate béchamel sauce is replaced with a fuss-free, crème fraîche-based sauce. Packed with nutty notes from Emmental and parmesan cheese, it’s every bit as deep and rich as the classic. And good news for egg lovers: there’s a yolk thrown in to amp up the delish factor.

Here’s our translated version of his Croque Monsieur recipe in French:

Ingredients (serves 1)

2 slices sandwich bread

150g cured ham, sliced thin

180g Emmental (30g for grating, and 150g sliced)

50g parmesan

40ml crème fraîche

1 egg yolk

Ground pepper

Method

Step 1: First, the sauce. Place crème fraîche in a mixing bowl, grate Emmental and parmesan over it, and mix well. Stir in the egg yolk and a few pinches of freshly ground pepper.

Step 2: Spread one slice of bread with butter.

Step 3: Layer over with one slice of ham, one slice of Emmental, another slice of ham, and again one slice of Emmental.

Step 4: Spread the cream sauce thickly on both sides of the second slice of bread, and place atop to complete the sandwich.

Step 5: Broil in the oven or salamander grill for two minutes, until golden-brown.

Serve alongside greens for the perfect brekkie fuel. And here’s the original recipe video, as presented by chef Laurent Barberot on L’Académie du Goût:

Top Image: Alain Ducasse, L’Académie du Goût