Oh hi. Hello. I made us an asparagus croque madame!
It’s worth all the exclamation points. Trust me.
And putting green veg in our croque madame? Let’s just turn this into a health food why don’t we.
Sunday brunch for one, coming right up. Or two! Maybe even three or four, but I draw the line there because we want to use alllll the cheese sauce.
Is it just me, or does the croque monsier (and croque madame!) remind you of that scene in It’s Complicated? The one where Meryl Streep (my forever crush) is making one for Steve Martin and they are enjoying the cutest, casual at home date ever. Even though I think I ate a croque madame long before seeing that movie, I always think of that scene and how much I love it. And how Alec Baldwin swoops in a finishes the dish and raves over it.
Speaking of, I wrote nearly this exact SAME paragraph almost exactly six years ago! When I shared another croque madame recipe. It’s like my life is one big loop. And I love it.
But doesn’t that reminds you of how much you love a croquet monsieur?
I wish I could eat it every single day.
Croque madame is a little more my speed because of the egg. I live for eggs. Right now, in April 2019, I’m proclaiming that eggs are my favorite food. They truly are! Sure, they join the list of avocado, bacon and most varieties of beans, but I would be lost with eggs. My breakfast, lunch and dinner would suffer greatly.
Everything is better with an egg.
They are my true superfood. I eat them every which way. So to top a cheesy sandwich with an egg? Twist my arm.
P.S. you should definitely try the kimchi bacon + egg tacos in The Pretty Dish.
AnyHOO. This is not about eggs. This is about roasted asparagus, sandwiched with prosciutto and melted together with creamy fontina cheese sauce. And then an egg.
Oh and then the whole baking situation of the sandwich where we make it more bubbly and melty and cheesy and desirable. Oh an it has MUSTARD!
Is your heart bursting yet?
Side note: I get my brown and bubbly cheese love from the frozen Stouffer’s mac and cheese side dishes. My mom used to make them when I was a kid. I loved those so much! We wouldn’t get them often, and now that I’m a mom and think back to the times we did have it, I realize that was one of our special quick meals on a busy night.
My grandma made amazing homemade mac and cheese but dang, those Stouffer’s ones came in a close second. The burnt bits were the greatest.
Since I’m freakishly into asparagus right now, especially when it’s roasted, I couldn’t NOT put asparagus on this croque madame. I love the combo of asparagus and eggs so much. It was a natural fit. Plus, I’m always trying to get more veggies into everyday life.
On the inside of this sandwich, we have…
Prosciutto instead of the traditional deli ham! I don’t love deli ham (unless it’s fried with eggs, ironically) and the idea of freshly sliced prosciutto here sounded incredible. Spoiler alert: it is.
A super seedy, thick sourdough bread bookends the insides. You make a cheese sauce with fontina because what isn’t better with fontina? But in a nod to the classic, I use grated gruyere too. Double the cheese, double the fun.
The must for me is a heavy-handed swirl of Dijon mustard on the insides of the bread as well as on the top. Combined with the richness of the melty cheese, this tang takes the flavor over the top.
It’s an indulgent, high maintenance sandwich, but one you should certainly serve yourself.
Asparagus Croque Madame
Yield: 2 sandwiches
This roasted asparagus croque madame is made with thinly-sliced prosciutto and a fontina cheese sauce. Lots of dijon and an egg on top!
- 8 to 12 asparagus spears
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup milk, 2% or whole is best
- 2/3 cup freshly grated fontina cheese
- pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup freshly grated guyere cheese
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard, or more if you’d like
- 4 slices multigrain sourdough bread
- 6 slices prosciutto
- 2 eggs, fried or poached
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Place the asparagus on the sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the spears are tender.
While the asparagus is roasting, make the cheese sauce. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in the flour and cook until golden and fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes, to create a roux. Add the milk and stir constantly until slightly thickened, then reduce the heat to low and stir in the fontina. Stir until melted, then whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
The asparagus should be finishing now, so you can use the same sheet pan. Place the slices of bread on the sheet. You can spread just 2 or all 4 of the slices with Dijon mustard if you wish – it’s your call. Layer 3 slices of prosciutto each on 2 slices of bread. Top the prosciutto with a few asparagus spears. On the other 2 slices, drizzle on some of the fontina cheese sauce. Sprinkle that with a bit of the shredded gruyere. Sandwich the pieces together to create 2 sandwiches.
Spread the tops of both sandwiches with more Dijon mustard. Drizzle on more of the fontina sauce.
Place the sandwiches in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and bubbly. While the sandwiches are baking, fry your eggs and season them with a pinch of salt and pepper.
To finish, you can broil the sandwiches for the last minute or so to create that golden bubbly cheese, but keep your eye on it!
Top the sandwiches with any remaining asparagus spears. Top that with the fried egg. Devour!
You’re worth it.
