Thursday, July 31, 2008

Whole Wheat Gruyere Soufflé



Like every cook I'm always wanting new gadgets, dishes, and whatnot. Unlike a lot of people though, I'm totally not willing to pay full price for all of these fun little trinkets. So, when I decide I want something I keep an eye out for sales, peruse bargain/closeout stores, and check out sites like Crate & Barrel's sale page, or Overstock.com until I find what I want at a price I'm willing to pay. The other day I found these perfect little soufflé ramekins at a closeout store for only $2. (Funny enough a couple months ago I bought a light green 2 qt soufflé dish for only $3. I saw it at Whole Foods yesterday for $20. Money!) I'd been wanting a set of these for a very, very long time. It just seemed so frivolous to spend upwards of 6 bucks a piece for them. I can handle $2. Fer sure.



As soon as I got them home I started thinking about all the wonderful new things I could try with them, foremost in my mind a delicious Gruyère soufflé. I'd never made a soufflé before and was a little nervous at facing the challenge. I'm a horrible folder. I tend to avoid recipes that call for it. Me and fluffy egg whites don't really mix. But, in all fairness everything went perfectly. I used the whisk attachment for my immersion blender (Thanks MiL!) and it worked like a charm. They whipped up in no time to perfect stiff peaks. The folding went well and the soufflés were fluffy, cheesy, light as air deliciousness. And with whole wheat flour, how can you go wrong?

I have to admit though, I think I'm going to stick with some nice dark chocolate soufflés from now on though. And top them with raspberries. Yumm.

I mean, they do say dark chocolate's good for you right...



Gruyère Soufflé

Makes 3 one cup soufflés

2 T butter + melted butter for brushing ramekins
1/4 cup Parmesan, finely grated
22g white whole wheat flour, sifted (Approx. 6 T)
3/4 cup milk
pinch salt
dash cayenne
3 eggs, separated
4 oz. Gruyère, finely grated
1/4 t cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush 3 ramekins with melted butter and coat with Parmesan; set on sturdy baking sheet.

2. In saucepan melt 2 T butter. Whisk in flour and cook over medium for 1 minute. Whisk in milk slowly and cook until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Add salt and cayenne. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a mixing bowl. Mix in Gruyère.



3. In a large ceramic or metal bowl whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula fold egg whites into Gruyère mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon into ramekins, wiping any drips. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.

4. Cook until puffed and browned, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately, they will deflate in a matter of minutes - or less.

See...

4 comments:

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Looks good. Nice to score on some ramekins!

Whitney said...

I am repeating myself but this is the first thing that comes to mind...yum!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Been always scared of doing souffles. I need a set of these ramekins, too. Mine have sides that are too low.

Maria said...

Loved reading this thank you