This warm sandwich is a true classic.
Fill the breads with ham and cheese. Product information: Kespro special wholesale. Inka Soveri
A classic of classics. The same can be said about the French Croque Monsieur bread. It is the absolute cornerstone of bistro cuisine.
Also a chef Risto Mikkola have fond memories of warm sandwiches.
– They are a classic from my childhood, which bring back warm memories when I think about them, Mikkola says.
He combines Saturday evening with bread, a TV moment for the whole family after the sauna with Saturday dances and a bottle of Jaffa.
The breads had ham and a slice of pineapple and were topped with cheese.
– The pineapple slice in particular was a great thing in the 1980s, Mikkola recalls.
Mikkola characterizes the warm sandwiches as the home-made pizza of that time. They were a delicacy eaten once a week.
A vinegary salad goes well with warm bread, as it balances the fattiness of the bread. Product information: Kespro special wholesale. Inka Soveri
The charm of warm breads is of course their delicious taste, but they are also easy to make. There are no strict rules for fillings either, only imagination is the limit.
Cheese is perhaps the most important ingredient in bread. It melts in the oven or pan to become deliciously stretchy.
Mikkola has also eaten croque monsieur in Lyon, France. He praises it as a great meal. The recipe for an authentic croque monsieur is a bit more complicated than Mikkola’s version.
For example, Mornay sauce is cooked in the croque monsieur of the French restaurant Pastis in Helsinki. The recipe for the bread can be found in the self-published cookbook bearing the restaurant’s name (Pastis, pienie pala Parisiia, 2024). Mornay sauce means the same as French cheese sauce. It is a variation of béchamel sauce.
However, Mikkola corrects this point and replaces the white sauce with cream cheese.
You rarely get warm bread in Finnish restaurants anymore. Opera bread or hunter’s bread have almost disappeared from restaurants. Mikkola thinks one of the reasons for this change is the spread of pizza culture.
However, Mikkola is sure of one thing:
– Croque Monsieur is sinfully good.
Do you remember these breads?
Chapel bread: a slice of palvi ham about a centimeter thick, the size of a loaf of bread, or a salmon medallion about a centimeter thick. Fry the egg into a bull’s eye.
Opera bread: Mix finely chopped onion, salt and pepper into the ground beef. Fry steaks and two eggs into bull’s eyes.
Oscar bread: Make the choron sauce. Pound the meat slices thin, roll in wheat flour and fry until crispy. Place a slice on each piece of bread, spread the sauce on top and decorate with a couple of crab tails and split asparagus.
Hunter’s Bread: Spread a thick mushroom sauce over the slices. The hunter’s bread can also be a little gratin under the grill resistance.
Warm breads are a traditional weekend food. Product information: Kespro special wholesale. Inka Soveri
Croque Monsieur
(4 servings / 8 sandwiches)
8 slices of light toast
150 g ham in slices
150 g of grated Gouda cheese
150 g unflavored cream cheese
50 g of Dijon mustard
salt
black pepper
butter and oil for frying
1. In a bowl, mix grated cheese, cream cheese and lightly season with salt and pepper.
2. Spread mustard thinly on the slices of bread. Spread the cheese mixture evenly on 8 slices of bread. Divide the ham evenly over 4 slices. Press another slice of bread on top.
3. Heat a frying pan to medium heat.
4. Fry on both sides for 3–4 min per side, until the bread browns and the cheese melts. If you want, you can press the bread lightly on the pan so that the surface becomes crunchy.
Pea salad
200 g of green peas
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 bags of salad mix
1 dl mint leaves
salt
black pepper
1. Boil frozen peas for about 1 min. Cool quickly in cold water to keep the color bright.
2. Put the torn salad in a bowl. Add peas, red onion and herbs. Pour over the vinaigrette and toss lightly.
Dijon vinaigrette
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 dl olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
1. Mix mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Add honey. Whisk in the olive oil in a thin strip until the sauce emulsifies.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
Drink recommendation
Densely fruity French burgundy in a convenient half bottle. The dry and crisply acidic white wine Louis Latour Bourgogne Chardonnay (€12.99/0.375 l) charms with its densely fruity and rich mouthfeel. You can smell yellow plum, honeydew melon, peach and peach stone, pale flowers, yogurt and a hint of beeswax that tells of ripening.