Croque Madame

Serves  2

Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 slices sourdough bread

50g butter

100g sliced double-smoked leg ham

1 cup truffle-infused cheddar, grated

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

¼ cup chopped chives, plus extra for garnish

1 tbsp of olive oil

2 eggs

Pinch of salt and pepper to finish

For the Bechamel

2 cups full cream milk

2 garlic cloves, smashed

¼ brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 sprigs of parsley

4 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves, fresh or dry

50g butter

2 heaped tbsp plain white flour

½ tsp whole peppercorns

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Pinch of white pepper

½ cup truffle-infused cheddar, grated

½ cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Method

For the Bechamel, add the milk, garlic, onion, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns to a saucepan. Heat stirring over low heat until just before the milk boils. Turn off heat and let it infuse for 10 minutes. Drain the infused milk through a sieve into a new bowl. Discard the aromats.

Heat the frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour and cook, stirring for one minute to cook out the flour. Turn off the heat.

Gradually stir in the infused milk, a little at a time to avoid lumps. Once all the milk has been added, turn the heat back on low and cook, stirring until you get a nice thick sauce. Remove from heat. Add the Dijon mustard, nutmeg, white pepper, cheddar and gruyere and stir through.

To build the toasties, place two slices of the sourdough onto a board. Top the slice of bread with ½ the gruyere and ½ the truffle cheddar. Add ham to each toastie and add a layer of the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with some chives and place remaining slices of bread on top.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter. When the butter melts, add the toasties to the pan and cook for a few minutes either side until golden and crunchy. Remove toasties from the pan and place them on an oven tray. On top of each toastie, add another layer of Bechamel sauce (you may have extra left over which you can use for other recipes). Sprinkle the rest of the gruyere and truffle cheddar on top. Place the toasties under the grill and cook until the cheese on top is melted and golden. 

While the toasties are under the grill, heat a new frying pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and fry the two eggs, sunny side up.

To serve, top each toastie with a fried egg and garnish with chopped chives and a pinch of salt and pepper.