At the head of the Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco, this Frenchwoman establishes herself as the only three-star female chef in the United States. But that does not mean that she does not know how to prepare simple things. The proof with this three cheese crunch, an unexpected encounter between the American "grilled cheese" and the French croque-monsieur.
Here is in fact an adaptation of the recipe that Dominique Crenn intended for Taste of Paris, this gastronomic event for the general public which should have taken place in May, and which is finally postponed to December (from 10 to 13 at the Grand Palais). We will therefore console ourselves by preparing it at home, adding its grain of salt, with the blessing and even the encouragement of the chef. Country bread or brioche can replace sliced bread, and your favorite cheeses will replace the three provided, namely Comté, Camembert and Ossau-Iraty. As for the vinegar onions, which break the fat and sugar of the recipe, they can be replaced by pickles. Serve with a nice spring salad.
Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 h 30
Price: 3 euros / person
The ingredients for the three cheese croque-monsieur recipe
For 4 people :
- 8 slices of sandwich bread, brioche or country bread
- 2 small onions (150 g in all)
- 15 cl of port, red wine or grape juice
- 100 to 150 g of semi-salted butter
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1.5 teaspoons caster sugar
- 1 large balsamic vinegar fillet
- 1 small handful of vinegar onions (you can use those present in the pickle jars)
- 80 g of Comté (or other hard cow cheese)
- 80 g ossau-iraty (or other sheep cheese)
- 80 g camembert (or other creamy cheese)
- 2 tablespoons old-fashioned mustard
The recipe steps
1. Prepare the onion jam
Thinly slice the onions.
Lather 50 g butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onions, honey and vinegar. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring, until the liquid in the preparation has evaporated. Add the sugar. Caramelize the onions for a few minutes.
Add the port to deglaze. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the juices. Cook over very low heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring often. Get out of the fire. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
This jam can be kept for a week. Take it out of the fridge 1 hour before use.
2. Prepare the cheese and vinegar onions
Grate the hard cheeses and cut the creamy cheese into small slices. Divide everything into four portions.
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Cut the vinegar onions in four.
3. Cooking
Melt a nice knob of butter in a large pan. Lower over low heat. Place two slices of sliced bread. On one of the slices, spread half a tablespoon of old-fashioned mustard, then a good tablespoon of onion jam.
Add cheeses for 1 serving. Close the sandwich and let the crunchy filling melt.
Check from time to time that the bread in contact with the pan is not burning. If this is the case, lower the heat further and / or add butter to the pan. The pan can be covered to speed up the complete melting of the cheese. He must stick the two slices of bread together.
Repeat the operation with the other three sandwiches (or proceed at the same time on other pans).
4. Train
Cut the crunches in half. Place them on plates and top with vinegar onions. To serve.