Recipe: Croque Monsieur with Foie Gras and Cepes

Name: Croque Monsieur with Foie Gras and Cepes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8 slices of pain de mie; 4 slices of raw duck foie gras; 4 cepe mushroom caps, 7 to 8 cm in diameter; 4.25 oz (120 g) of lamb's lettuce salad; Salt and freshly ground pepper; Fruity rapeseed oil and Xeres vinegar

By chef patrick Asfaux 5/5 (1 review)

Prep 15 min

Cook 10 min

Total 25 min

Servings 4 serv.

A croque for those who know how to cook: pan-seared foie gras, browned cepes, toasted pain de mie. It's heavy, it's rich, it's made for festive meals among friends who love good food.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Adjust for

servings

8 slices of pain de mie
4 slices of raw duck foie gras
4 cepe mushroom caps, 7 to 8 cm in diameter
4.25 oz (120 g) of lamb's lettuce salad
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Fruity rapeseed oil and Xeres vinegar

Step-by-step directions

1 Trim the slices of pain de mie.

2 Place your foie gras slices in the freezer for 10 minutes, then in a pan without any fat, pan-sear them seasoned with salt and pepper for 2 minutes on each side. Set them aside on paper towel.

3 Cut your cepe caps lengthwise and brown them in the foie gras fat remaining in your pan for 3 minutes on each side. Season and set aside.

4 Place a half cepe cap on the slice of pain de mie, then the pan-seared foie gras slice, then the other half cepe cap and finally the second slice of pain de mie to cover.

5 Place in your croque-monsieur maker and let toast until your pain de mie is a beautiful golden color.

6 Season your lamb's lettuce with salt, pepper, rapeseed oil and Xeres vinegar, then arrange on a nice plate with a bouquet of salad in the center and the croque cut diagonally on each side.

7 The warm melted foie gras fat plus the earthy flavor released by the cepe combined with the different textures on the palate gives the impression of a divine blend.

A chef's advice

Foie gras in the freezer for 10 minutes before the pan, that's THE trick. Slices too soft, they crumble during cooking. Too cold, they shrink. Ten minutes exactly: firm enough to hold together, cold enough not to release too much fat all at once. The heat from a virgin pan gives you golden edges in 2 minutes on each side, that's all you need.