Sweet And Savory Monte Cristo Sandwich Recipe

To many, a well-crafted sandwich is the perfect meal. The options for customization are endless, and the idea of combining good bread and imaginative fillings is an invitation to culinary artists everywhere. Food Republic recipe developer Julianne De Witt shares this masterpiece, a sweet and savory Monte Cristo sandwich, which is every bit as grand as it sounds. It's stuffed with ham, turkey, cheese, and the unlikely yet perfect tart-sweet/savory combination of mayo and raspberry jam. The bread is dipped in an egg and cream mixture before the sandwich is cooked in a pan with butter, giving it a satisfying French toast consistency and tantalizing golden hue.

"Thought to be a variation of the classic French croque monsieur sandwich, the Monte Cristo is believed to have originated in the 1950s in southern California," De Witt shares. It rose in popularity as a feature item at restaurants at Disneyland, and continues to be a local favorite to this day. While you might find it deep-fried with the jam on the side, De Witt's variation includes the spread on the bread and makes use of a cooking method that's less involved. 

With the contrasting sweet and savory flavors, De Witt notes this sandwich is a good option for brunch or lunch. "I would serve this with a tart fruit salad or a crisp green salad with a lemony vinaigrette to play off the sweetness." 

For the coating, get eggs, half-and-half, and ground nutmeg. Next, for the sandwich, you'll need mayonnaise, brioche bread slices, raspberry jam, sliced ham, sliced turkey, and grated Gruyère cheese. Finally, get butter to cook the sandwiches and powdered sugar to garnish.

De Witt likes to use brioche because, "It's a soft, sweeter bread with a rich taste, but a nice sourdough would work as well." Meanwhile, she says, "Gruyère is the traditional cheese for this sandwich, and I love the nutty and creamy flavor it adds to the sandwich." As for the raspberry jam, she notes that it adds a tart sweetness to the sandwich, but recommends red currant jam as an alternative. 

Crack the eggs into a shallow bowl then add the half-and-half and nutmeg.

Whisk the ingredients together.

Divide the mayonnaise between 2 slices of brioche bread and spread it evenly.

Divide the jam and spread onto the two remaining slices of bread.

Divide the ham and turkey between the mayonnaise-covered slices of bread.

Divide the cheese between the jam-covered slices. Press the cheese lightly into the jam.

Put the sandwiches together.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Dip the sandwiches on both sides in the egg mixture.

Transfer the sandwich to the skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted.

Sprinkle the sandwiches with powdered sugar and slice them in half.

Serve the Monte Cristo sandwiches.

Although this sandwich recipe requires a few steps, each of them is pretty straightforward. The trickiest part is probably the dipping and cooking steps, which require a bit of precision to ensure optimal results. For starters, De Witt recommends using thinly sliced meat so that it can fully heat through in the short time it takes to cook the sandwich. In a similar vein, she notes, "I grate the Gruyère cheese to get a better melt." 

When it's time to dip the sandwich into the egg and cream mixture, make sure the egg coating is light to prevent the bread from absorbing too much batter and becoming soggy. As for the cooking process, "Start cooking the sandwich on medium heat so that the cheese has time to melt before the bread gets too browned." If you find the cheese isn't getting melty quickly enough and you risk burning the bread, she suggests finishing it off in the oven at 350 F. Cover the sandwich with tinfoil if the bread has sufficiently browned. Finally, though it might be tempting to try to compact the sandwich in the pan, De Witt advises, "Resist the urge to press down on the sandwich as you may flatten it."

If you bought a large chunk of Gruyère for this recipe or discovered a love for the cheese in the process, there are plenty of ways to incorporate it into other recipes. De Witt explains that Gruyère is a Swiss cheese that is made with unpasteurized milk, then washed with brine and aged, and tells us, "This process helps to give the cheese its slightly salty and sweet taste." It also has a characteristic nuttiness that makes it a great complement to a variety of other ingredients. 

Chances are you may have already tried Gruyère without realizing. "Gruyere is a classic cheese used in many familiar dishes such as cheese fondue and French onion soup," De Witt says. She also recommends, "Use it in gratin potato recipes and add it to your cheese board." Alternatively, use it to garnish a pizza, quiche, or frittata for a subtle and delicious twist.