Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 6 eggs
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons finely or freshly grated parmesan or asiago cheese
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk or light cream, warmed
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated pepper(preferable white)
2 tablespoons fine chopped chives
1 cup finely grated Gruyere, cheddar, or other melting cheese of your choice
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Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 375*
Separating the egg:
Put all the egg whites in a perfectly clean, grease-free large bowl. Put 4 of the egg yolks into a smaller bowl. You will have 2 egg yolks left over. It is very important not to get any yolk into the egg whites--they won't beat up if you do. But it doesn't matter if there's white in with the yolks--there always is. Set the 2 bowls of beautifully separated eggs aside.
Preparing the baking dish:
With your fingers, lightly rub a tablespoon or so of butter all around the inside of the dish. Sprinkle the parmesan inside the dish and roll the dish around in your hands to lightly coat the entire inside--the bottom and all the way up the sides. Set the dish aside in the refrigerator to chill a bit. A chilled dish seems to keep the butter in suspension better as the souffle bakes.
Preparing the sauce base:
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes without letting it brown.(this step cooks the flour so that it doesn't have a raw "floury" taste). Slowly whisk in the warm milk, a little at a time. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce will be very thick. Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper and remove the pan from the heat. What you've made here is a white sauce, or bechamel. Beat a little of this warm base slowly into the egg yolks. This "tempers" or gradually warms them so that they are less likely to scramble. Whisk this mixture back into the rest of the base and set aside.
Beating the egg whites:
In a clean bowl, with a hand or stand mixer beat the egg whites just until stiff but still shiny and moist-looking. This means that the fluffy egg whites should stay in standing peaks when you lift out the beaters. If the whites are no longer shiny and start to clump, they have been overbeaten.
Folding the egg whites and finishing the souffle:
Sprinkle the chives over the sauce base and with a rubber or silicone spatula, stir a quarter of the whipped egg whites into the base. Do this quickly. This lightens the mixture so that you can fold in the remaining whites. Here's a little lesson in folding: Scoop the rest of the whites onto the top of the sauce base. With the edge of the spatula, cut down into the whites, drag the mixture over the top of the whites. Turn the bowl a quarter turn, and sprinkle on some of the grated gruyere. Cut down through whites, drag the spatula along the bottom, and bring the sauce mixture over the top. Repeat until whites, cheese, and sauce are just combined. This is one of those techniques that's harder to describe than to demonstrate, but it's worth trying to do it right. What should be going through you mind is that you are doing everything you can to thoroughly and evenly mix the egg whites, sauce base, and cheese without deflating the egg whites. stirring will deflate them.
Spoon mixture into the prepared dish, gently smoothing the top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the souffle is puffed and golden brown. *keep the door closed for at least the first 20 minutes so that the souffle can set. If your oven doesn't have a glass window and you are tempted to peek-DON'T!!!!*
When done, serve immediately. To maintain as much of the puff as possible when serving, plunge an upright serving spoon and fork straight down into the center of the souffle and then pull the crust apart and scoop out a serving.
Congrats!!!!!!
For firmer souffle, bake in a 325* oven for 35-40 minutes
Variations-
Spinach or Broccoli Souffle. Stir 1/2 cup of cooked and finely chopped broccoli or spinach into the warm sauce base after the addition of the egg yolks. Reduce the grated gruyere quantity to 1/2 cup.
Mushroom souffle. Stir 3/4 cup of very finely minced oven dried portabella mushroom in to the base before the egg whites are added. Reduce the gruyere quantity to 1/2 cup.
Seafood souffle. Saute 3 tablespoons of finely chopped shallots or green onions in a little butter or olive oil until soft. Add 3 tablespoons white wine and continue to cook until the wine is evaporated. Remove from the heat, and add 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped or diced shrimp, crab, or salmon, and stir into the warm sauce base after the addition of the egg yolks. Reduce the grated gruyere quantity to 1/3 cup.
Souffle on a platter!
You can bake a souffle on and ovenproof platter. It still a souffle. One of my favorite dishes for company is to take the basic cheese souffle mixture above and mound it over fresh asparagus that has been cooked briefly but is still crisp. Sprinkle the egg mixture with a little additional cheese and bake for 15-18 minutes in a preheated 435* oven. Serve it immediately. You can do the same thing w/ other vegetables like endive, or cooked artichoke hearts. Also, experiment w/ fish fillets, like salmon or any other that will cook in the same time as the souffle.
All souffles can also be baked in individual ramekins prepared as you would a larger dish. Cooking time will be 18-20 minutes or so depending on the mixture. |
This recipe for Basic Cheese Souffle (by Josh Ash) is from