You know that chicken recipe that’s so good they call it ‘marry me chicken’? I think I’ve found the breakfast croissant equivalent.
It starts with fabulous croissants that I got from my local patisserie but, honestly, the sum of this sandwich is so luxurious even regular grocery store croissants will do. Because we’re going to make a bechamel sauce that is going to turn these croissants into a silky, sensuous hot mess.
Here’s my mise en place for the bechamel: equal parts butter and flour to make my roux, which is the base for any cream sauce (about 2 tbsp), 3/4 cup cream (I always pour a little more into the measuring cup and eyeball it once I’m incorporating the cream into the roux), and about 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg.
You might think you don’t like nutmeg, but before you make your final judgment, please try buying whole nutmeg and freshly grating it—you’ll never buy store bought nutmeg powder again, I promise.
I’m ready to get the roux started, so I melt the butter in a saucepan at medium-low heat then whisk in the flour.
This is the base of the sauce and will help thicken it as well as add a bit of glossiness. It’s ready for the cream, so keep the whisk going.
The whisk is doing its magic and the sauce is beginning to thicken, so in goes the nutmeg.
And I keep whisking until the sauce is creamy enough to become a sandwich spread. It’s ready.
Magical transformation. OK, time to get my sandwich mise en place going.
I’ve got two gorgeous croissants that could be the star all on their own. There’s about a half a cup of grated Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese (you could substitute with gruyere, swiss, even cheddar). And some nice Italian ham. Ready to build my croissant sandwich.
Slice open those croissants and give both sides of the sandwich a generous dose of that bechamel spread. Place the ham on the bottom half of the croissant.
Now for a generous helping of cheese.
Crack some black pepper, close your sandwiches and place them on a baking tray that’s lined with parchment paper.
These go into a 350 F oven for 10-15 minutes—until the cheese is melty and the outside of the croissants are crispy and golden brown. Ah, here we go …
That is one sensuous sandwich: the creaminess of the bechamel melds with the nuttiness of the melted cheese, the salty, sweet ham stands out, and that buttery, flaky croissant just puts it over the top.
This ain’t no diet sandwich, but if I’m making brunch for a crowd this is my go-to breakfast sandwich. You can make them in advance and quickly reheat once you’re ready to serve brunch. For the vegetarians, I swap out the ham for sliced tomatoes but you could also do a spinach/feta mixture.
I’m making 52 sandwiches this year and trying to decide which ones make the top 10 list. This croissant sandwich is surely a contender for best breakfast sandwich of the year, but I’ve got more breakfast sandwiches to test, so the challenge is on.
Trish Hennessy
A Year in Sandwiches 