Buttery croissants, gruyere, holiday ham, asparagus, and caramelized onions all tossed together in a mornay sauce then baked to golden perfection and finished with a poached egg for the ultimate, comforting and savory croque madame breakfast sandwich.

Being French Canadian a lot of the food we grew up eating was heavily influenced by traditional French cuisine that involve extensive preparation, lots of butter, and cheese. Of course when you think French food you think fancy, expensive, slow cooked probably in wine, lots of sauces and sometimes associated with the holidays and hosting. Just like any cuisine, there’s the fancy stuff and the everyday meals that are comforting and simpler to prepare.

Like the humble ham and cheese sandwich- there is no sandwich simpler and of course the French had to take it up a notch by adding a creamy béchamel, some mustard and a fried egg to create the ultimate comforting sandwich the croque madame. C’mon you can’t beat this breakfast sandwich combo.

The French know best when it comes to rich, indulgent food and how to truly savor and enjoy each and every bite.  If ever we cross the province and are in Québec the first thing we want to do is go sit down somewhere and eat some good food. The closest to us is Montreal and Vieux-Montreal the food scene here is just incredible and so iconic  there is something for everyone. It’s not like anything here in Ottawa..

What we’ve done here is essentially taken a classic sandwich and transformed it in a way that’s easier for entertaining and serving a crowd. Especially during the holidays, if you’ve got any guests staying over this is just the thing you should be serving and a great way to use up that leftover holiday ham.

Your guests will appreciate getting spoiled with the most delicious melt in your mouth croissant bake. Especially after a big night of partying.

The sandwiches can easily be made in advance if you’ve cooked the ham the day before. There isn’t any sauce that goes in the sandwiches so they won’t get soft if you want to have them all pre-assembled. You can also blanche the asparagus ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. Blanching is quick and only takes a few minutes but making them ahead will leave you with less of a clean up afterwards. When you’re ready to serve all you’ll need to do is make the sauce.

It has all the essentials of a good breakfast that will satisfy all the cravings, it’s easy to throw together, it’s rich, indulgent and bakes soft in the middle with a nice crunch on the outside.

Print Recipe

croque madame croissant bake

Buttery croissants, gruyere, holiday ham, asparagus, and caramelized onions all tossed together in a mornay sauce then baked to golden perfection and finished with a poached egg for the ultimate, comforting and savory croque madame breakfast sandwich.

Course: Breakfast

Servings: 6

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• For the croquet madame:
• 6 large croissants
• 1 pound of ham cooked cut into thin pieces
• 1 cup gruyere shredded
• 1 pound asparagus blanched with ends trimmed off
• 2 large sweet onion cut into thin rings
• Dijon mustartd
• 3 TBS butter
• 6 eggs poached
• For the mornay:
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 TBS flour
• 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 TBS ground nutmeg
• 1 TBS fresh sage chopped

Instructions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large baking dish with oil and set aside.
• 2. Start by caramelizing the onions. Heat butter in a pan over medium heat add the onions stiring from time to time until the onions start to brown and caramelize about 12 minutes. Reduce to low if onions start to cook too fast. Once finished set a 1/3 cup aside to garnish.
• 2. To make the mornay sauce: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until you smell the flour and butter cooking, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not allow it to brown. Whisk in the milk and season with nutmeg and sage stirring constantly until the mixture thickens about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and add the shredded gruyere whisking to incorporate.
• 3. To assemble the croissants cut each piece in half lenghtwise to open them up to make a sandwich. Layer ham, onions, asparagus and drizzle with mustard. Place each sandwich into a baking dish placing them in different directions some facing out more. Pour the mornay sauce over top and in between the sandwiches finish with shredded gruyere and place more ham, asparagus, and onions pieces to fill any gaps. Bake for 20 minutes until the exterior start to get a little crispy and cheese begins to brown.
• 4. In the last few minutes of cooking start poaching the eggs.
• 5. To serve: serve each sandwich with a poached egg.