Gruyere Soufflé

There is nothing more heavenly and delicious than a cheese soufflé. The French were so spot on about this dish (and a number of other delicious things). The great thing about soufflés is that they do not require lots of special ingredients. With a few extra steps and enough cheese in your fridge, you can impress your family and friends with this decadent meal.

Ingredients:

5 Eggs, whites in a large bowl separated from the yolks (which you can place in a medium size bowl)
8 Oz of gruyere cheese grated
3 Tbsp fresh Parmesan
4 Tbsp butter [(real butter, none of this margarine substitute stuff, the French cook with the real thing, and some argue that if you keep your amounts to a minimum you might be better off eating butter than margarine or a substitute with a laundry list of ingredients – most of which you cannot pronounce) <— yes, this is my soapbox]
1/2 Tsp cream of tartar
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/3 Cup hot milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

You can also add things like mushrooms, prosciutto, ham, etc. But a real soufflé is all about the cheese.

1. Take 3 Tbsp of your butter and melt it in a small saucepan. Add the flour slowly while mixing and heat at medium heat for 3 minutes. Pour in the hot milk and whisk together on high heat for about 5 minutes – when the mixture boils remove it from the heat. In a separate bowl beat your egg yolks. Now pour the egg yolks slowly into the hot milk mixture (while whisking). Move it from the sauce pan into a large bowl. Add your gruyere cheese, nutmeg and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and mix it all together.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Butter your casserole dish. Take your Parmesan and sprinkle it into the dish, turning it to ensure that the cheese covers all the different sides – see photo.

3. Put your egg whites into a large mixing bowl, add the cream of tartar. Mix the egg whites until they are firm – see photo.

4. Fold your egg whites into your egg yolk/cheese mixture. Pour into your casserole dish and put in your oven (you may want to place your dish on a pan to ensure that if anything runs over it doesn’t make a mess). Cook for 45 minutes. Every oven is different, so be sure to check at the 30 minute mark. Soufflés need time, sometimes they will need a little longer than you think. Just check on them, you can use the toothpick trick to be sure it’s ready. But the top will most likely be a deep brown color – but not burnt. If you take it out and it’s not fully cooked, don’t worry, just nuke it for a quick few seconds. It’ll still taste just as good!

Enjoy!

Tags: cheese, Gruyere, soufflé