Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame
// January 15th, 2012 // No Comments » // breakfast
These are very similar to the Dutch Tosti’s I made a few weeks ago. Croque Monsieur is a hot ham and cheese sandwich, the Madame variation is topped with a hot fried egg. They originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars. The name is based on the verb croquer (“to crunch”) and the word monsieur (“mister”)— the reason behind the combination of the two words is unclear— and is colloquially shortened to croque. While the origins of the croque-monsieur are unknown, there are many speculations on how it was first created. The croque-monsieur’s first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest mention in literature appears to be in volume two of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu) in 1918.
I had these for the first time on a recent trip to NZ at the La Cigale French style Farmers Market in Parnell (Coincidently right next to the old woolstore apartment building Axis that Mark and I lived in).
Traditionally these are made with a Mornay or Béchamel sauce, however this version by Matt Moran is much easier and can be put together in minutes. (more…)
