CAFÉ SOCIETY
Lekker Brekker Monday: Monte Cristo sandwich
The Monte Cristo sandwich was born in a Parisian café in 1920. It’s what you get when you cross a Croque Monsieur with French toast. Triple decker, and decidedly moreish. You might want two.
A Croque Monsieur is made from store-bought white bread layered with cheese (usually Swiss Gruyère but you could use Cheddar or Mozzarella) and ham, with a spreading of mustard in most cases, and fried in butter. French toast is slices of bread dipped in egg and fried.
For a Monte Cristo, you make a ham and cheese sandwich using three slices of bread, dip it in beaten egg, and fry it on both sides. In my version, I used mustard as well.
Ingredients (per 1 sandwich)
3 thin slices of white bread
Butter
4 slices of gypsy ham
Grated Cheddar, Gruyère or Mozzarella cheese
Dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper
Also:
2 eggs, beaten
Clarified butter
Method
Butter one side each of three slices of bread, and spread mustard on.
Sprinkle grated cheese on one and top with a slice of ham.
Top the ham with more grated cheese and place a second slice of buttered bread on top. Butter the top side and spread mustard on.
Add another layer of grated cheese, then more ham, and more grated cheese.
Place the third slice of bread on top.
Push down with your palm.
Beat the eggs in a flat plastic bakkie. Season with salt and pepper.
Dip the sandwich in the egg by holding it with both hands, then flip it carefully and dip the other side. Roll it from side to side so that the bread soaks up as much of the egg as it can.
Melt clarified butter in a frying pan and fry on both sides until golden and crisp. DM
Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer of the Year 2023. His book, foodSTUFF, is now available in the DM Shop. Buy it here.
Mervyn Gers Ceramics supplies dinnerware for the styling of some TGIFood shoots.
Then phone your doctor for cholesterol tablets
Professionally speaking, taking cholesterol tablets to counter the effects of this delectable sandwich, is like f__ting into a tsunami.
“flat plastic bakkie” – I am sure there is a better way to describe this that is actually English and doesn’t bring to mind images of a squashed pick up truck – maybe “shallow container”?
Stick with ‘flat plastic bakkie’. We live in South Africa
Really?
Guess Karen had a bad day and couldn’t order her Monte Cristo anywhere lol. I hope she got to speak to the manager about the “flat little bakkie” issue