Spinach Souffle and Traditional Cheese Souffle

Some soufflé variations:

spinach soufflé (adapted from the Life Menu Cookbook)

1 package chopped frozen spinach (1 cup)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
7 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
1 egg white

1.       Preheat oven to 400° F.
2.       Butter a two-quart soufflé dish and sprinkle the sides and bottom lightly with Parmesan cheese.
3.       Melt one tablespoon of butter in a heavy saucepan and add the shallots. Cook for about three minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the thoroughly drained spinach and lemon juice and cook over a very low heat, stirring frequently until all the liquid has evaporated, which will take about 10 minutes. Set aside.
4.       Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan and, over low heat, stir in the flour with a wire whisk; remove from heat. Meanwhile bring the milk to the boiling point and add it to the butter-flour mixture, beating vigorously with a wire whisk until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and continue whisking until blended. Let this white sauce cool a little.
5.       Meanwhile separate the eggs. Beat the yolks into the sauce one at a time. Stir in the spinach and set the mixture aside.
6.       Beat the egg whites, including the extra white, in a large bowl until they hold soft peaks. Stir a little of the whites into the sauce to make it easier to manage, then gently fold in the remainder. Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish. Place in oven; turn heat down to 375° F. immediately and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is well puffed up and lightly browned.

Serves 6.

Soufflé au Fromage (Cheese Soufflé)
(adapted from Time-Life, The Cooking of Provincial France)

1 tablespoon soft butter ½ tsp. salt

1 tablespoon grated, imported Swiss cheese Pinch of white pepper

4 egg yolks

3 tablespoons butter 6 egg whites

3 tablespoons flour 1 cup grated, imported Swiss cheese*

1 cup hot milk

1.       Preheat oven to 400° F.
2.       Grease the bottom and sides of a 2-quart soufflé dish with one tablespoon of soft butter, then sprinkle in one tablespoon of grated imported Swiss cheese, tipping the dish to spread the cheese as evenly as possible on the bottom and on all sides.   Set the dish aside.*
3.       In a 2- to 3-quart saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over moderate heat.. When the foam subsides, stir in three tablespoons of flour with a wooden spoon and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes. Do not let the roux brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in hot milk, beating vigorously with a whisk until the roux and liquid are blended. Add the salt and pepper and return to low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce comes to a boil and is smooth and thick. Let it simmer a moment, then remove the pan from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking until each one is thoroughly blended before adding the next. Set aside.
4.       With a large balloon whisk, beat the egg whites until they are so stiff that they form small points which stand straight up without wavering. (A rotary or electric beater may be used instead, but the whites will not mount as voluminously or have as fine a texture.) Stir a big spoonful of beaten egg white into the waiting sauce to lighten it; then stir in all but one tablespoon of the remaining grated cheese. With a spatula, lightly fold in the rest of the egg whites, using an over-under cutting action rather than a stirring motion.
5.       Gently pour the soufflé mixture into the prepared dish; the dish should be about three- quarters full. Lightly smooth the surface with a rubber spatula and sprinkle the remaining tablespoonful of cheese on top. For a decorative effect make a "cap" on the soufflé with a spatula by cutting a trench about 1 inch deep and 1 inch from the rim all around the dish. Place the soufflé on the middle shelf of the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375° F.
6.       Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the soufflé puffs up about 2 inches above the rim of the dish and the top is lightly browned.

Serve at once.

To serve 4

*Variation--Do exactly as above, but (while working on step one above) also boil 4 refrigerated eggs for 7 minutes. Rinse under cold water and peel. Scoop about half of the soufflé mixture into soufflé dish; arrange eggs on top and cover each with a mound of the remaining soufflé mixture. Dot each mound with a teaspoon of grated cheese and bake as directed above. (Serve each person an egg.)

You can find the above recipes by tapping here on the Home Cookin' index.

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