BE BRAVE
Soufflés are regarded as something terribly
difficult to make and they just are not. If you have been watching Masterchef,
you would have seen a good Master class on them and learnt the tip of properly
greasing the dish: how to carefully fold in the egg whites so that you don’t
knock the stuffing out of them. What you need is a thick flavoured sauce into
which you stir egg yolks while the sauce is warm (not hot) and then gently fold
in the stiffly beaten egg whites. They do need to go into a hot oven and they
must not be disturbed until they are nearly finished. And – you can reheat the
cheese variety the next day for what is known as a twice baked soufflé, to be
served with a cheese sauce. You can make savoury or sweet soufflés. Do be brave
and have a go – you will be surprised how easy they are. Two tips – use eggs
that are slightly old and that have been taken out of the fridge to get to room
temperature
6 medium courgettes – 4 eggs,
separated – 175g grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg – a
dash of Tabasco - sea salt - a grinding or two of black pepper – a little
vegetable oil
Roughly grate the courgettes, put them in a sieve
and plunge it into boiling salted water for 1 minute, then plunge into ice cold
water to refresh. Drain well and pat dry. Stir into the egg yolks, add the
cheese, nutmeg, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Grease a small soufflé dish with the
oil or use individual ramekins. Stiffly whip the egg whites then fold them
carefully into the courgette mixture. Bake in a moderate oven at 180ºC until
they are puffed up and golden on the outside. As a variation you could add some
flaked cooked fish or some slivers of cooked meat or chicken
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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