A FRENCH BREAKFAST… WELL NOT REALLY

Surely hot ham and molten cheese must be one of the best ways of making the French croissant even yummier? There’s nothing more satisfying than making something that is already one of life’s luxuries even more wonderful and – being a savoury girl – I can’t think of a better way to do it. The classic way to make this dish takes time and patience. That’s fine when you want to be in the cooking zone, but quite frankly, I often don’t feel that way early in the day, so I’ve come up with a cheat’s alternative. If French, please turn away now.

Normally you make a roux sauce – a combination of fl our and butter bubbled together with milk added slowly. Instead I use mascarpone cheese and a little extra-thick double cream. A few more calories, but who cares?

Serves 2

100g mascarpone

2 tablespoons extra-thick double cream

150g gruyère cheese, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg yolk

25g butter

6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced

4 croissants

4 slices Parma or Serrano ham

1. Place the mascarpone and the double cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. When the mixture boils, add half the gruyère cheese, season with salt and allow to cool. When cooled, add the egg yolk and mix well to help it to glaze when grilled.
2. Heat a frying pan and add the butter. When the butter starts to foam, add the mushrooms. When they have wilted, turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Slice open the croissants across the top and pour in a spoonful of the cream mix, followed by a slice of ham, a few sauté mushrooms, an extra drizzle of cream and then top it off with more cheese.
4. Grill until the cheese has melted and the cream has started to glaze. Eat immediately.

As featured in “Easy Peasy: Laid-back food for lazy days”

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