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You can use leftover panettone bread to make savory sandwiches such as Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame. We love them! The rich and slighlty sweet panettone is perfect to make croque monsieur or croque madame. The combination of sweet and savory makes them delicious!
Panettone on its own is awesome enough I can tell you! I love the soft and airy crumbs, buttery rich and slightly sweet too! If making the traditional panettone using leivito madre sounds too scary for you, definitely try this overnight panettone using a sponge dough method. It is so much easier for beginners like myself, yet I have had people use this recipe and they really love the result.
What to do with panettone leftovers?
Anyway, I’ve made several sweet things with panettone bread, but I feel like something savory this time! That’s when Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame come in.
What is Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame?
They are of French origin. Croque means crunch in French. Monsieur means “Sir/Mister”. Madame means “Mrs”. Croque Monsieur is French-style grilled/baked ham and cheese sandwich topped with bechamel sauce. Whereas Croque Madame version is everything that Croque Monsieur has and one fried egg or poached egg on top. The egg resembles women’s wide-brimmed hat and that’s why it is called Croque Madame. Instead of using white bread slices such as pain de mie, I slice the panettone into about 3/4-inch thick to be used as the “sandwich bread”.
How to make panettone Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame
1. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the flour in, all at once and keep stirring. 
2. While doing that, slowly add the hot milk into the saucepan and whisk until it is smooth and thickened. 
3. Off the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg. Keep it warm at the lowest heat possible
4. Spread the toasted bread with butter on one side and some bechamel sauce on the other side. Put the buttered side down. Then add two slices of ham to each, and Gruyere cheese. Top with another slice of toasted bread spread with some butter.
5. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the sandwich, buttered side down on the skillet, for about 2 minutes on each side
6. Spoon some bechamel sauce on top of the bread,top with another thin slice of Gruyere cheese. Turn on the broiler and broil on low for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve while they are pipping hot
7. For Croque Madame, we just need to add a fried egg to each sandwich. Preheat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Crack two eggs and fry the eggs until the egg white is cooked through but the yolk is still runny but maintains its round shape, about 2 minutes or so. For over-easy, slide a wide spatula under the egg and then flip it over and cook for another 30 seconds
8. Top each sandwich with the fried egg and serve while they are pipping hot. Because I love chili sauce a lot and want to make it spicy, so I drizzle a bit of sriracha chili sauce.
Did you make this panettone Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Panettone Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame
Ingredients
- 4 slices panettone bread
Bechamel sauce (enough for 2 sandwiches):
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
For the sandwiches:
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 slices Gruyere cheese or Emmental, Comte cheese
- 4 slices ham
For Croque Madame:
- 2 Poached egg or fried egg
Instructions
- You can slice the panettone bread in half lengthwise and then cut into about 3/4-inch thick slices and cut into serving size. You can also cut the panettone bread into about 3/4 inch thick slices horizontally, so it will be a circle and then you can cut into half or quarter (depending on the size of your panettone)
Prepare bechamel sauce:
- Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the flour in, all at once and keep stirring. While doing that, slowly add the milk into the saucepan and whisk until it is smooth and thickened. Off the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg. Keep it warm at the lowest heat possible
To assemble Croque Monsieur:
- Spread the toasted bread with butter on one side and some bechamel sauce on the other side. Put the buttered side down. Then add two slices of ham to each, and a slice of Gruyere cheese. Top with another slice of toasted bread spread with some butter.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the sandwich, buttered side down and cheese side down on the skillet, about 2 minutes, or until the cheese are melty then turn to the other side and cook until the bread is golden brown
- Spoon some bechamel sauce on top of the bread,top with another thin slice of Gruyere cheese. Turn on the broiler and broil on low for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve while they are pipping hot
- If you don't want to use an oven, you can lower the heat on the stove to low and then cover the pan with a lid and cook until the cheese is melty but take care not to burn the bottom of the bread by controlling the heat
To assemble Croque Madame:
- Follow the same step above. We just need to add a fried egg to each sandwich
- Preheat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Crack two eggs and fry the eggs until the egg white is cooked through but the yolk is still runny but maintains its round shape, about 2 minutes or so. For over-easy, slide a wide spatula under the egg and then flip it over and cook for another 30 seconds
- Top each sandwich with the fried egg and serve while they are pipping hot