the french name souffle literally means inflated. How does he count Larousse Gastronomique, a savory soufflé consists of a thick bechamel base or a puree bound with egg yolks, to which stiff egg whites are added. During cooking in the oven, due to the effect of heat, the water in the mixture evaporates and swells the many air bubbles in the egg whites, causing the mixture to swell while the egg curdles. The result is an extremely airy and light dough, with an extraordinary egg flavor and a shallow structure that keeps it standing for just the two minutes necessary for you to admire such a fine and elegant thing.
The classics say that a soufflé should never wait, it must be brought directly from the oven to the table to be consumed immediately: the reason is that it is normal for the soufflé to sink as soon as it begins to cool down; the structure that the curdled egg and the starch of the bechamel gives it is not enough to hold all the hot air it contains, and the soufflé begins to collapse as soon as you take it out of the oven, so it has to go to the throat without delay. In the preparation, only the bechamel base admits some advance and wait, but, once the whipped egg whites have been added, the mixture should go into the oven in a short time. The traditional aromas of cheese soufflé, in addition to the cheese, which is usually of the Gruyère type, are pepper, mustard and some paprika.
On Serious Eats have a very interesting article about savory bechamel-based soufflés, where they tell us that the proportions of the ingredients have been quite well established for decades by classic French cuisine. There is a certain margin regarding the number of whites, for example: there are those who put the same number of whites as yolks and who add an additional white; It depends on how much you like living on the edge. Higher cooking temperatures, in the range of 200-210 degrees, make the soufflé rise more, but to avoid burning the outside, the center is cooked less, resembling a coulant. On the contrary, if you use a temperature in the range of 190-195 degrees, you will get a completely curdled soufflé, but with a little less height. At your free will.
It goes without saying that the bechamel should be smooth and without lumps; although it will not appear love me at night if you get any; you pass the hand mixer and point. It is also important, on the one hand, to whip the egg whites until they make soft peaks -without making them too hard, as they mix less well- and, on the other hand, to be especially delicate in this mixture so that we do not lose any of the air that we have incorporated. in the shake and will make our soufflé rise properly. How are the soft peaks? As you beat with rods -those of a robot or electric ones-, stop every once in a while and raise the rods of the beaten egg whites: the shake should be clearly foamy and white, but not very solid, the rods will raise a peak on the surface of the egg whites that will slowly bend or fall. That is the point.
Soufflés can be prepared in ramekins, which are containers ad hoc, small and cylindrical for individual portions, among which the soufflé mixture is divided, or in large charlota-type molds that accommodate the entire mixture. Whichever container is used, it should not be filled to the top, but a small margin should be left between the soufflé liner and the rim so that the soufflé does not spread out during cooking. The recipe I use is a recombination of several, designed so that the result is relatively solid and not a puffed tortilla. Jacques Pepin will not approve.
Difficulty
Whip the egg whites to the point of soft peaks, not very hard, and mix the egg whites and base delicately, without losing the aeration, cook it to the point, serve it quickly. It has its intricacies.
Ingredients
For 4 ramekins of 250 milliliters or a mold of charlotte of one liter
- 100 g of semi-cured cheese (Manchego or Castilian, or Gruyère if you want to use French cheese)
- 40g of butter
- 40g of flour
- 250g whole milk
- 4 L egg whites
- 4 L egg yolks
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 good pinch of paprika
- Salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- A few drops of lemon juice
- Butter and breadcrumbs to cover the molds
Preparation
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Grate the cheese and reserve covered.
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Grease four ramekins -or a single mold- with abundant softened butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Keep them refrigerated.
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Separate the yolks from the whites, cover and reserve. Temper the milk for the bechamel.
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Melt the butter over low heat in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add the flour and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon so that it is impregnated and toasted, one or two minutes.
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Add the warm milk little by little and without stopping stirring with rods so that lumps do not form, until obtaining a fine bechamel. Cook for two minutes to thicken slightly, stirring constantly.
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Remove from heat and season with nutmeg, paprika, pepper and salt. Keep in mind that the cheese will also provide salt.
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Let the bechamel warm slightly and mix the yolks. Cover with plastic to skin and rest while the egg whites are mounted.
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Whip the egg whites to soft peaks with a few drops of lemon juice.
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Add a quarter of the egg whites to the bechamel to fluidize it, mixing with soft and enveloping movements with a spatula, and then mix the rest of the egg whites with the same delicacy, so that they do not go down, while adding the cheese grated.
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Distribute the mixture immediately among the four ramekins placed in a baking dish. Do not exceed the internal rim -like half a finger from the rim-; there may be some mixture left over. If you don’t have any leftover, it means that the egg whites have deflated too much when mixing; nothing happens, the soufflé will be equally edible even if it does not grow as much as possible.
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Place the dish in the lower third of the oven previously heated to 205 °C. Cook without air at this temperature if you want an almost runny center or lower to 195°C if you want a completely curdled soufflé.
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Cook 17-20 minutes, until the cheese soufflés have risen a lot and are golden (if you use a single pan, you will need a little more time, up to 25-30 minutes minimum). It is better not to open the oven throughout the cooking.
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Test with a skewer if the soufflés are completely cooked inside, if that is what you want (it should come out clean). Remove the soufflés and bring to the table immediately.
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