Monday, April 4, 2011

Asparagus and Gruyere Souffle

I have missed a few month's worth of challenges but I could not resist attempting a souffle! Souffle conjures up all these images of tip-toeing around your oven for fear of collapsing the oh-so-delicate creature within; just when you think you've created a perfect dish, it deflates when removed from the oven. I figured I must find out for myself if the souffle was really as daunting as it seemed.
With Spring comes the season of my favorite vegetable, asparagus, so I immediately searched for a recipe based on this ingredient. I stumbled on this one from the Cooking Light site:
Asparagus and Gruyere Souffle-
  • YIELD: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
  • 3/4 pound asparagus
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
  • 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
  • 6 large egg whites
  • Dash of cream of tartar
Preparation
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Coat a 2-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray; sprinkle breadcrumbs over bottom and sides of dish.
  • Cook asparagus in boiling water 4 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water. Cut a 1-inch tip from each asparagus spear; finely chop stalks.
  • Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place the flour, salt, ground nutmeg, dry mustard, and black pepper in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thick.
  • Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot milk mixture into egg yolk, stirring constantly with a whisk, and add to remaining hot milk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Stir in asparagus tips and chopped asparagus with the cheese. Cool slightly.
  • Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into asparagus mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon into prepared soufflé dish. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until puffed, golden, and set. Serve immediately.
It actually puffed, turned golden brown and tasted delicious! I think I will try a sweet one at some point, too. Perhaps a dark chocolate souffle?


Posted by -colleen



7 comments:

Rena said...

It's beautiful! That combination sounds delicious. Well done!

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Delicious recipe...

Medifast Coupon said...

Love the bakeware, that is pretty.

Zurin said...

The dish looks delectable! and I love the bakeware too :)

Elena G. said...

Savory souffles are my favorite. We don't have asparagus up here quite yet, but will soon. I'll definitely give this a try.

Anonymous said...

Looks really yummy and the recipe sounds very tasty!

Unknown said...

first time here! went through the entire page of recipes - two things - I think I will put on weight just by looking at the incredible cakes :) 2) I am bookmarking this one! totally delicious!