 A croque monsieur | |
| Type | Sandwich |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Bread, butter,ham (typically boiled),cheese (typicallyGruyère), pepper and salt |
| Variations | Croque madame |
Acroque monsieur (French pronunciation:[kʁɔkməsjø],croque = "crunch",[1]monsieur = "mister, gentleman") is a hotsandwich made withham andcheese.
There are references to the dish before the end of the 19th century. In 1891,La Revue Athlétique mentions them:
It is late and we are very hungry. What should we do for lunch? Ham becomes monotonous in the long run. The Diplomat, who is a bit of a gourmand, and in this he resemblesTalleyrand, has an idea. "Let's make croque-monsieurs". Quickly, the toast, the butter, the Gruyère cheese, the ham, a little cayenne pepper and we are at work. One cuts, another butters, the third puts it all together into sandwiches that Vincent fries in the pan.
They are exquisite, the croque-monsieurs, a little big perhaps, made for the jaws of giants, but who cares? We eat them, we come back to them, we are delighted.[2]
A croque monsieur is traditionally made with baked or boiled ham and sliced cheese between slices ofpain de mie, topped with grated cheese and lightly salted and peppered, and then baked in an oven or fried in afrying pan. The bread may optionally be browned bygrilling after being dipped in beaten egg. TraditionallyGruyère is used, but sometimesComté orEmmental cheese as well. Somebrasseries also addbéchamel sauce.
Croque monsieur may be baked or fried so that the cheese topping melts and forms a crust.[3][4]
A croque monsieur served with apoached or lightlyfried egg on top is known as acroque madame[5] (or, in parts ofNormandy, as acroque-à-cheval). According to thePetit Robert dictionary, the name dates to around 1960. The namecroque-mademoiselle is associated with its lighter, vegetarian version: made of the same bread, but with ordinary melting cheese, accompanied withchives,cucumber andlettuce.[3]
In theUnited States, theMonte Cristo (a ham-and-cheese sandwich often dipped in egg and fried) is popular fare indiners.[6]
Variants of the sandwich with substitutions or additional ingredients are given names modeled on the original croque-monsieur, for example:
| Name | Added ingredients | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Barros Jarpa | Variation with same ingredients fromChilean cuisine | [7] |
| Barros Luco | Made withroast beef instead of ham | [7] |
| Croque provençal | Tomato | [8] |
| Croque auvergnat | Bleu d'Auvergne cheese | [9] |
| Croque chevre | Topped with a large slice ofgoat cheese. | |
| Croque norvégien | Smoked salmon instead of ham | [7] |
| Croquetartiflette | Sliced potatoes andReblochon cheese | [8] |
| Croque bolognese / Croque Boum-Boum | Bolognese sauce | |
| Croque señor | Tomatosalsa | |
| Croque Hawaiian | Slice ofpineapple | |
| Croque gagnet | Gouda cheese andandouille | [10] |
| Croque Madame | Fried egg | [7] |
| Croque monsieur withbechamel | Standard croque monsieur topped with bechamel sauce | [7] |
| Francesinha | Variation fromPortuguese cuisine with steak, sausage, ham, melted cheese and a beer sauce | [7] |
| Monte Cristo | French sandwich with varying other additions, incl. but not limited to powdered sugar and fried in either egg or batter. | [7] |
| Types of ham | |
|---|---|
| Ham dishes | |
| Ham producers | |
| Related articles | |
