Cheese Soufflé
This cheese soufflé was one of the first recipes of Mum’s that I attempted. For her this was the sort of dish she might throw together late at night for her and my father, no doubt exhausted after a day wrangling four strong willed children, myself included. It isn’t something she made me often, which is probably why I want to so much to make it! It would have been a way to use up leftover cheese from the fridge and would have been served with a green salad.
One of Mum’s most used reference books in the kitchen Cordon Bleu’s Cooking with Eggs; a coveted volume, with many of her soufflés and sauces originating from it. To make this soufflé she would use a very specific high-sided, round, ceramic white oven dish 7 inches in diameter trimmed with gold (pictured right). She used an Aga so she would have had no sight of how the soufflé was progressing - a benchmark of what a wonderful cook she was and how often she made it (you cannot open the oven door or the soufflé will drop). She was instinctive as a cook, something I strive to be also and I believe is earned with time and practice. Use the best quality eggs you can buy and start with them at room temperature to make this.
ingredients
Serves 2-3 people
4 rounded tbsp grated cheese
1 tablespoon extra fine breadcrumbs
40g butter
1 rounded tbsp plain flour
pinch of sea salt
cayenne pepper
180ml whole milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 organic egg yolks
5 organic egg whites
method
First prep a soufflé dish with butter and fine breadcrumbs. Preheat the oven 180C.
In a saucepan make a roux by melting the butter, removing the pan from heat and stirring in the flour. Season well, blend in milk. Put pan back on heat, stir until boiling then draw aside. Add mustard and beat in the grated cheese and an egg yolk at a time. The basic sauce must be well-flavoured.
Next whip egg whites into firm peaks, stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the sauce using a metal spoon. Then stir in the remaining parts, lifting the sauce well over the whites from the bottom of the pan. Do not over-mix you want to retain all the air.
Turn lightly into a prepared soufflé dish. Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven until golden and firm to the touch. Serve immediately (it will drop fast) with a green salad. Bon appetit.
