A classic french inspired sandwich filled with sautéed veggies, a rich creamy homemade mornay sauce and a perfectly cooked runny fried egg. This sandwiched is filled with fresh spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, grated gruyere, a punch of dijon mustard and topped with fresh avocado and greens.

This sandwich is breakfast comfort food at its best. French inspired and commonly known in Quebec- its a classic take on a restaurant-style favourite.

This dish is worth every effort. Its more of a weekend brunch meal. One because its not as quick of a breakfast option, and two because its extremely filling you want to eat it closer to lunch time. This version is completely vegetarian where as the classic opts for ham.

Cooking:

Begin by having all your ingredients readily available to make for a smooth cooking process. The sauce comes together quickly simply keep an eye on it and whisk away to ensure the sauce thickens properly and to avoid over cooking your roux. Gruyere is a quick melting cheese therefore it will melt in the hot sauce when removed from the heat. Choose a bread that’s nice and thick which will hold a good amount of sauce and not get soggy. French loafs and sourdoughs are great options. Even day old will help hold everything together and crisp up nicely.

We recommend using the oil from the sundried tomato jar for cooking instead of regular olive oil to add more flavour and of course it gives you an alternative use to that oil rather than throwing it away. The filling for the sandwiches can be substituted with vegetables you have on hand. Other options are onions, asparagus, prosciutto or ham for a little more classic.

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and take a picture and tag it @thecommunalfeast on Instagram! We’d love to see what you come up with.

Print Recipe

croque madame

veggie filled croque madame sandwiches with a creamy rich homemade mornay sauce served with a runny fried egg overtop.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• Mornay sauce:
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 TBS flour
• 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 TBS ground nutmeg
• 1 TBS fresh oregano chopped (optional)
• 1 TBS fresh parsley chopped
• 1 TBS dijon mustard
• filling:
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• 2 cups mushrooms thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sundried tomato + oil for cooking
• For each sandwich:
• 2 slices of bread fairly thick
• 1 fried egg for on top
• generous scoop of mornay
• shredded gruyere
• generous scoop of veggie filling
• dijon mustard
• optional: avocado

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium heat, add the flour to form a roux. Slowly add the milk whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Stir in the mustard, herbs and nutmeg. Allow the sauce to thicken stiring frequently for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Turn off heat and stir in gruyere.
• In a pan, heat oil from sundried tomato jar. Sautée mushrooms for 3 minutes until browned. Add spinach and sundried tomatoes. Cook an additional 2 minutes.
• When you are ready to serve, spread dijon mustard on the inside of 1 slice of bread. Add the mixed veggie filling, top with a scoop of mornay and close sandwich with other slice of bread. Transfer to baking tray and bake for 5 minutes until bread begins to turn golden and crisp. Remove from the oven, top with a bit more sauce and shredded gruyere. Return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.
• While the sandwiches are baking, fry and eggs to place on top. Garnish with avocado, greens and herbs.