Flavours Of Life Preah Narang

A souffl? is made of ingredients cooked to a pur?e, thickened with egg yolks and beaten egg whites, and baked. Sounds simple enough, but the difficulty lies in perfecting it.

 

Points to remember when making a souffl?:

• Line ramekins with butter, and then sugar.

• Fold base and egg whites carefully, never over mix.

• Don’t overfill ramekins.

• If making individual souffl?s, place ramekins well apart in the pre-heated oven. Use only one oven rack.

• Prepare souffl? just before baking. Or else, egg whites will fall before baking.

• Monitor souffl? while it bakes.

• Separate eggs when cold so that the whites slip away easily from the yolks.

• For best volume, allow egg whites to reach room temperature before beating.

• Always fold in egg whites into other ingredients. Do not stir/beat. Add whites to mixture in two batches. First fold in about 2 tbs and then remaining mixture.

The flavoured base can be prepared in advance. All that needs to be done before baking is to fold the beaten whites into the base.

Souffl?s served alone can be boring, so pair them with veggies or salad. A dessert souffl? goes nicely with shortbread or other cookies.

Cheese soufflé

Ingredients: 6 large eggs; 1/4 cup butter; 1/4 cup flour; salt and pepper; 1/4 tsp mustard; 11/2 cups hot milk; 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Method: Preheat oven to 400?. Separate eggs, put yolks in a dish and whites in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in non-stick pan. Blend flour, salt, pepper and mustard into the melted butter. Cook and stir for two minutes. Add milk slowly, whisking to make a smooth, thick white sauce. Cook for two minutes, stirring. Remove from heat. Add grated cheese and stir until cheese melts. Whisk yolks to break them up. Then add a few tablespoons of cheese sauce to these to warm them. Add the yolks back into the cheese sauce and whisk to combine. At this stage the mixture can be left at room temperature till needed.

Beat egg whites with electric whisk till shiny, and soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of the whites into the cheese sauce. Fold the remaining 2/3 into the sauce. Pour mix into baking dish. Bake for 15 mins till the surface of the souffle is brown, but the middle jiggles. Serve hot.