Croque madame

Name: Croque madame
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Makes 2
Ingredients: 2 long red chillies, roughly chopped (with seeds); 250 g (9 oz) tomatoes, roughly chopped; 50 g (1¾ oz/⅓ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 2 tablespoons dijon mustard; 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) full-cream (whole) milk; 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter, softened; 150 g (5½ oz) soft brown sugar; 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar; 1 red onion, roughly chopped; 1 garlic clove, finely grated with a microplane; 4 slices sourdough bread; 4 slices smoked leg ham; salt flakes; freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh chives; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves; 300 g (10½ oz) gruyère, grated; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon; 2 eggs; 1 tablespoon olive oil; assorted fresh herbs, leaves picked, to serve

Preparation info

Makes
2

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 5

Appears in

Chefs Eat Breakfast Too

By Darren Purchese

Published 2019

About

This sandwich – a favourite of mine – is definitely a knife and fork jobby! I make no apologies for being ‘creative’ with the traditional ‘madame’, adding in a tomato relish hit and LOTS of yummy herbs. Hot, crunchy, cheesy and oozy, this is the perfect start to the day.

Ingredients

Tomato relish

250 g (9 oz) tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 long red chillies, roughly chopped (with se

Sandwich
Savoury
Breakfast

Method

For the tomato relish, put all of the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over medium–high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula to ensure it does not stick to the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the relish to cool.
For the cheese sauce, heat the milk in a small saucepan and set aside. M