I had never attempted a souffle and had never had one at a restaurant before. It was pretty easy to make and will be even easier the second time. Not knowing what your doing can make it a bit tense but after it was in the oven and it turned out fine, looking back it was easy. You basically make a roux, mix in some yolks and then once you have whipped up the egg whites you fold those into the roux along with any other ingredients and bake. Upon first bite I wasn't sure what I thought. It was moist so I wasn't sure if it was really done even though the internal temperature did reach the desired 160F. It was very light and fluffy. I wasn't sure what I was tasting, forgot about the goat cheese but once I remembered I wasn't sure if this is what I was tasting. As I continued to eat I grew to like it more and more. I would probably rate the souffle a 4, possibly a 3.5, however I want to try new flavors. I also think it is better as a main dish with a salad or as a breakfast dish. It didn't have enough veggies in it to be considered a vegetable dish.
After making my first souffle I did some research and found out that what souffle's have in common is the whipped egg whites, folded into a roux of sorts and then the ingredients change. I found one that had sharp cheddar, ham, dry mustard and cayenne which sounds like a good second savory try. I found a sweet one that had sugar added to the egg whites with sauteed pears and nuts on the bottom with the souffle (egg whites and roux mix) poured over top and I even found pancake souffle's which basically had the egg white mix added in the batter which I believe will make them fluffier. I will give a variety of versions a shot to see if souffle's are here to stay. I think for company or a special occasion they would be impressive but you must serve them immediately or they begin to deflate so timing could be an issues with a crowd.
In the version below I didn't have one large souffle dish (now on my list to purchase) so I used 4 small dishes. I would prefer to make one large one especially if it is used as a side dish vs a main dish. If served as a main dish for the two of us I will cut the recipe in half and serve with a salad. From pictures I have seen the souffle can puff up well beyond the top of the dish. Maybe this will happen when I use the larger dish.
1 ½ C. broccoli florets, cooked and finely chopped
1 T. butter
1 T. EVOO
2 T. flour
1 ¼ C. non fat milk
1 t. Dijon mustard
¼ t. dried rosemary
¼ t. salt
½ C. crumbled goat cheese
3 eggs, separated
2 egg whites
¼ t. cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Coat four 10 oz. ramekins (or a 2-2 ½ qt. souffle dish) with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Microwave broccoli in a medium glass bowl covered with plastic wrap for 2 minutes. Chop. Melt butter and oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking. Add milk, mustard, rosemary and salt. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in goat cheese and 3 egg yolks until well combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat the 5 egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add cream of tarter and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half of the whipped whites into the milk mixture. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites and the chopped broccoli just until no white streaks remain. Transfer to the prepared dishes. Bake until puffed, firm to the touch and thermometer reads 160˚F, about 20 minutes for ramekins or 30 minutes for a souffle dish. Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions: Serve with a salad, as a side dish for a special occasion or for breakfast. There isn't enough veggies to consider it a vegetable dish. Serve it immediately or it will deflate.
The other thing I made last night was Baked Fish Sticks. They were floured, dipped in egg whites and then tossed in panko bread crumbs and seasoning. Although they didn't look as appealing as I would have liked (not golden brown enough) they did taste better than they looked. They were also way too salty. I knew when I was adding a tablespoon of salt that it was too much but I went for it anyways. Next time I'll reduce the salt as indicated below, I'll mix the spices with the flour and try broiling them the last few minutes or spritzing them with oil to see if that browns them up a bit. I have also modified the tarter because I couldn't taste the jalapeno and I originally added two types of pickles which I liked. The reason I'll add the spices to the flour vs the panko is because the panko bread crumbs are so coarse that it didn't mix well with the spices so some sticks had more seasoning and some had none.
BAKED FISH STICKS
6 talapia fillets, each cut in 4 strips
1 C. flour
2 egg whites
1 ¼ C. panko bread crumbs
½ t. salt
½ T. pepper
½ T. garlic powder
½ T. tarragon
Heat oven to 375˚F. Using three pie plates, put flour, salt, pepper garlic powder and tarragon in one, egg whites in another and the bread crumbs in a third. Toss the fish in flour, then egg whites, sprinkle with spices and then bread crumbs. Place on a foil lined, greased baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with tarter sauce.
Tarter Sauce
½ C. mayonnaise
½ (1 T.) jalapeno, chopped
½ T. dill pickle, chopped
½ T. sweet pickle, chopped
½ t. tarragon
Seed and devein jalapeno. Chop jalapeno and pickles. Mix with mayonnaise and tarragon. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving.
As you can see even though the picture isn't great that they are not very brown and one has a ton of seasoning. Next attempt will be better.
No comments:
Post a Comment