French Soufflés
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No one does soufflé like the French, so we found this great book about French cuisine and have an excerpt from it with a little info on soufflé and some soufflé recipes as well. The book has over 280 recipes with an emphasis on practical, simple French cooking.
Title: "French Cooking" Author: Eileen Reece Excerpt: |
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Soufflé
The basis of all soufflés, savoury or sweet, is sauce béchamel to which different flavoured ingredients are added with egg yolks. The stiffly beaten egg whites are then folded in. In this folding, and in cooking at a rising temperature, lies the secret of success. Remember that a soufflé waits for no one, so serve from oven to plate without delay.
Savoury soufflés served with a green salad make a good lunch or supper dish.
Savoury soufflés served with a green salad make a good lunch or supper dish.
Soufflé au fromage
Cheese soufflé
To Serve Six
INGREDIENTS
sauce béchamel made from 50 g (2 oz) butter, 50 g (2 oz) flour, 275 ml (1/2 pint) milk
salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg
6 eggs (size 2), separated
50 g (2 oz) grated gruyère cheese
50 g (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
an 18-cm (7.25-in) diameter soufflé dish
Soufflé Furstenbourg
6 eggs (size 3-4)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
INGREDIENTS
sauce béchamel made from 50 g (2 oz) butter, 50 g (2 oz) flour, 275 ml (1/2 pint) milk
salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg
6 eggs (size 2), separated
50 g (2 oz) grated gruyère cheese
50 g (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
an 18-cm (7.25-in) diameter soufflé dish
Soufflé Furstenbourg
6 eggs (size 3-4)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Buy the cheese in a whole piece and grate as required in order to obtain their full flavour. Use a large pan so that there will be room to incorporate the egg whites easily. Heat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6.
Make the sauce béchamel by melting the butter over a medium heat until foaming. Add the flour and work it in thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from the heat, add all the milk at once and beat with a whisk until smooth. Return the pan to the heat and cook until thick, stirring constantly, drawing in the mixture from the sides of the pan to avoid lumps. Season, add a generous pinch of nutmeg and taking the pan off the heat, beat in the egg yolks one at a time and the two cheeses and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool. This mixture can be made early in the day for serving later. In this case press a piece of buttered paper over the surface to prevent a skin forming.
Beat the whites to a stiff peak 35 minutes before serving, place a third on top of the sauce béchamel and fold in using a wooden spatula. Add the rest of the egg whites in the same way. Do not stir or beat.
Pour into a buttered soufflé dish to three-quarters full, place in the oven immediately, cook for 20 minutes, then increase the heat to 230°C, 450°F, Gas Mark 8, for a further 10 minutes and serve without delay.
Soufflé Furstenbourg (cheese soufflé with poached eggs inside)
Heat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Poach the eggs in boiling water with the lemon juice added. Poach for 3 minutes only and then drain on a cloth. Pat dry with kitchen paper and trim the whites with scissors. Make the cheese soufflé as indicated in the above recipe, pour half into a buttered 18-cm (7.25-in) diameter soufflé dish, arrange the poached eggs on top, well spaced out and cover carefully with the remaining mixture. Cook for 10 minutes, then increase the heat to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6 and cook for a further 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
- from "French Cooking," by Eileen Reece
Make the sauce béchamel by melting the butter over a medium heat until foaming. Add the flour and work it in thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from the heat, add all the milk at once and beat with a whisk until smooth. Return the pan to the heat and cook until thick, stirring constantly, drawing in the mixture from the sides of the pan to avoid lumps. Season, add a generous pinch of nutmeg and taking the pan off the heat, beat in the egg yolks one at a time and the two cheeses and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool. This mixture can be made early in the day for serving later. In this case press a piece of buttered paper over the surface to prevent a skin forming.
Beat the whites to a stiff peak 35 minutes before serving, place a third on top of the sauce béchamel and fold in using a wooden spatula. Add the rest of the egg whites in the same way. Do not stir or beat.
Pour into a buttered soufflé dish to three-quarters full, place in the oven immediately, cook for 20 minutes, then increase the heat to 230°C, 450°F, Gas Mark 8, for a further 10 minutes and serve without delay.
Soufflé Furstenbourg (cheese soufflé with poached eggs inside)
Heat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Poach the eggs in boiling water with the lemon juice added. Poach for 3 minutes only and then drain on a cloth. Pat dry with kitchen paper and trim the whites with scissors. Make the cheese soufflé as indicated in the above recipe, pour half into a buttered 18-cm (7.25-in) diameter soufflé dish, arrange the poached eggs on top, well spaced out and cover carefully with the remaining mixture. Cook for 10 minutes, then increase the heat to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6 and cook for a further 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
- from "French Cooking," by Eileen Reece