Blue cheese souffle
A cooler day is an invitation to stay at home and cook some good food. Although it’s not cold, it is a cooler day on the Mayan Riviera and even if I am not cooking, at least I am thinking about it, hence this post. I made this souffle at home before we left and just getting to post it now.
Souffle is not an everyday dish. It is rich and doesn’t keep well. The thing about souffle is that you must serve it immediately when you take it out of the oven, souffle waits for no one. Have a serving tray ready, when you take the souffle dishes out of the oven place them on the tray and straight to the table to the anticipating guests. They should be seated already waiting for the souffle, not the other way around. I am sure you will get a few ooohhhs and aaahhhs if you go to the trouble of making it.
Serve it with a crisp green salad and a light dressing with a hint of sweetness to compliment the blue cheese.
Enjoy.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
4 tablespoons flour
A pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup milk, hot
3 teaspoons dijon mustard
5 egg yolks
Salt and white pepper (or black)
3/4 cup blue cheese, soft at room temperature
5 egg whites
A small pinch of salt
A drizzle of honey for serving – optional
Directions:
Prepare 4 individual 1 cup soufflé dishes: butter the dishes inside and then cut a piece of parchment to wrap around the dish and tie it with kitchen twine (see image). For this recipe you can also fit the collar inside the dish, just make sure that you butter first the dish and then the inside of the parchment. The parchment should rise 3″ above the rim. You need this collar because the soufflé will rise above the sides and top of the dish. The collar will contain it and then you can pull it out when it comes out of the oven.
Melt butter in a small saucepan, add grated parmesan and whisk to combine and soften.
Add the flour and whisk over medium heat to cook off the taste of flour.
Add milk and cook until the sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and add the dijon mustard.
Let it cool a little and then whisk in egg yolk, one at a time.
Add the blue cheese without over mixing, then set aside.
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks. Do not over beat and let them dry.
Fold about a third of the egg whites into the sauce and mix gently to combine with deflating the egg whites too much.
Gently pour the mixture back into the whites and continue folding to combine without deflating the batter.
Divide among the four soufflé dishes and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until set and golden on top. the soufflé is done when it golden and puffed but still giggle in the middle.
Soufflé does not wait for anyone. Have your guests wait at the table and serve immediately.
Try a light drizzle of honey over the soufflé if you’d like.
A salad is a nice accompaniment to a soufflé. Have everyone seated and the salad on the plates and then bring the soufflé from the oven to the table.
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