Note: I’ve updated the post below with the recipe for this soufflé au fromage. If you try it, send a photo to bettunya@mac.com. I’d love to post.
I’ve just made my first…
soufflé.
And it is so pretty. And delicious. Light, airy with a lovely scent. Thing is, this wasn’t difficult at all. You are basically making a sauce béchamel, adding your flavoring (in my case grated gruyere and parmesan, with a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Some salt and pepper). Then you beat egg whites until stiff, lightly fold them in to the sauce, pour into a buttered soufflé mold. And voila.
Looks so fancy-pants. But so easy.
By popular demand, I’m including the recipe:
Soufflé au Fromage
Adapted from Anne Willan’s “Basic French Cookery” 1980
2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
4 egg yolks
¾ cup grated gruyere and parmesan, mixed. heavier on the gruyere (the good kind)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
6 egg whites
Preheat oven to 425. The oven needs to be really hot when you put the soufflé in.
Generously butter a 5 cup soufflé mold. Sprinkle inside with breadcrumbs to coat. Shake out extra.
Melt butter in medium saucepan. On low heat, whisk in flour.
Cook until mixture foams: do not brown. Whisk in milk. Don’t stop whisking.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Keep an eye out and whisk during the simmer.
Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks into hot sauce until thickened. Cool just a little.
Beat in ½ cup of grated cheese and mustard.
Taste for seasoning. Mixture should be highly seasoned as egg whites will be added later.
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Spoon ¼ of the whipped egg whites into the cheese mixture and thoroughly mix. Lightly fold this cheese mixture into the remaining egg whites, making sure to be gentle, but not leave areas of pure egg white unflavored.
Pour into prepared mold and sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp of grated cheese.
Bake 12-15 minutes until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.
Bon appetit!
bettunya 
January 30, 2008 at 3:24 am
That is absolutely amazing! What a feast for the eye! I’m drooling… And thanks for the bit about beans. Of course it makes sense now, but it sounded so odd. I guess the beans are that je ne sais quoi in a quiche!
January 30, 2008 at 3:33 am
Thank you, Marta! It really is a fun dish to make. Like a puffy, savory angel cake.
January 30, 2008 at 4:56 am
my **GOD!!!** That’s GORGEOUS! Pardon my English, Betty, but I’m just agog. My mom used to make soufflés when we were little, but they never looked like THAT!
So do les françaises make soufflés with many different varieties of cheese or are there traditional “soufflé cheeses?”
January 30, 2008 at 6:41 am
Thank you, Kathy! It really was fun to make. Gruyere and parmesan, mixed, are very traditional for souffle.Though you could really adapt for any type of cheese I imagine. Now that I know how easy they are to make, I’m excited to make more. I know in the fancy restaurants they are often flavored with salmon or other fish. Yum.
January 31, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Pretty! I’ve never had a savory souffle before. Now I want one.