Life lessons from a soufflé
#Eat Plentiful 33
Life isn’t always plain sailing, it’s not meant to be. Not wanting to put a downer on your week by being all serious and that but this week I have felt particularly philosophical. To the point that whilst watching my soufflé rise in the oven one night, I could not help but draw the similarities between a soufflé and life.
As we navigate the ups and downs of life, there is something very poetic about the delicate yet very resilient nature of a soufflé. It rises with excitement, goes through some tough times, and, when done right, comes out as a masterpiece with every imperfection and crack it might have, making it more beautiful.
So on that note, I will be sharing with you my soufflé recipe so you can also witness the rise at home and take a moment to appreciate its magic.
But first I would like to debunk two myths about soufflés:
Soufflés are complicated to make.FALSE A soufflé requires no more than 5 ingredients and I am sure you have all of them in you fridge at all times. So with the correct ingredients, weighed out properly and by respecting the different steps it is in your reach.
Don’t open the oven door! FALSE There's a common myth that opening the oven door while a soufflé is baking will cause it to collapse. A quick peek will not ruin your soufflé but don't just stand there with the door open. Also, if your oven window is that dirty, just clean it and you will be able to see inside!
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Cheese soufflé
Ingredients
Serves 4
4 x 15cm ramekins or one big round, deep, straight-sided ovenproof casserole dish
30g unsalted butter, plus a little extra for the ramekins
30g parmesan, finely grated, plus 2 tbsp
30g plain flour
300ml whole milk
a spoon of mustard
50g gruyère, finely grated
4 large eggs, separated
¼ tsp white wine vinegar
Instructions
Heat the oven to 200C/fan and leave the baking tray inside.
Butter the ramekins. Divide 2 tbsp of finely grated parmesan between the ramekins and shake them to get the cheese to stick to the butter. Tip out any excess.
Next your making your roux, melt the butter pan over a low heat, then add the flour. Mix well to form a thick paste. Cook for 1 minute until the paste starts to smell nutty, then add the milk, a little at a time, keep on stirring until you get a thick and smooth white sauce.
Stir in the mustard, pepper and the cheeses. Stir briefly to melt the cheeses, season generously with salt, then remove from the heat. Transfer to a large bowl, allow to cool down for a few minutes and stir in the egg yolks.
In the meantime, put the egg whites in a clean bowl, add the vinegar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
Add a spoon of the egg whites into the white sauce and mix well to combine, this loosens the sauce up so you can incorporate the remaining of the egg whites easily.
Add the remaining egg whites and, using large spoon carefully fold into the bowl doing a figure of 8, until just incorporated into a light yellow foam. Divide between the ramekins, filling them no more than three-quarters full.
Using the tip of a cutlery knife, swipe around the insides of the ramekins. Transfer to the oven on the heated baking tray. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until they are well risen, golden topped and have a slight wobble when picked up.
You definitely don’t want to overcook your soufflé, you want a dry, firm, golden-brown crust with a moist, fluffy inside. When testing with a knife, it should come out wet but not covered in runny liquid. Serve it a green salad and a sharp mustard vinaigrette and don’t wait around too long!
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The restaurant of the week is being replaced by the book of the week, just this one time.
I have been so enthralled by the book The Top 5 regrets of the Dying that I have to share it with you. I devoured it in a few days, and feel like picking it up again and again to absorb every nugget of wisdom the author shares with us. The title might sound depressing, but this book is full of hope and love. A must for everyone.
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Enjoy your weekend x