Recipes ~ Savory ~ Do Souffles Make You Nervous??? Pureed Broccoli and Cheese Souffle~#SundaySupper

If souffles make you nervous, you are have come to the right place! They seem so "fussy" and "daunting" to get them right, but I am here to tell you that if I can do it, anyone can! This is really quite easy to make. The key is in getting the egg whites to nicely stiff peaks and also in the GENTLE folding of the whites into the egg sauce to create a 'light as air' foamy concoction that you carefully pour into a dusted souffle dish. That's really all there is to the fuss!

Ingredients ~

• 1 1/3 c. milk (I used skim)
• 1 shallot, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 c. broccoli florets
• 3 TBS. unsalted butter
• 5 TBS. flour
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup pureed vegetable (I used broccoli)
• 3 oz. grated Peccorino Romano
• 1 TBS. chopped rosemary
• 1 TBS. chopped thyme
• Pinch smoked paprika
• sea salt and cracked pepper

Boil broccoli until just tender. Place in blender with 1/2 c. liquid (stock) and a pinch of salt. Puree until smooth. Set aside

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter souffle dish and dust with some of the shredded cheese. Set aside.

Bring milk with the shallot and bay leaf to a simmer. Cover and remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. 

In separate sauce pan, melt butter. Add in flour and whisk for 1 minute. Drain milk and slowly pour into butter and flour, whisking to incorporate without lumps. Stir over medium heat until gently boils and thickens -to coat the back of a spoon.  Add the yolks, one at a time and whisk. Cook a minute longer until creamy. Remove from heat.

Mix pureed vegetables with the cheese, herbs, and paprika with a fork until combined. Add this mixture to the cream sauce to combine. Set aside. 

Beat whites until they form stiff peaks. Spoon one big spoonful into cream mixture to loosen up a bit. Combine the cream mixture with the rest of the whites and GENTLY fold until lightly foamy and incorporated. This is SO important --that you do this gently. You will not fail if you do this! Carefully pour into buttered dish dusted with cheese. Place in a larger baking dish and fill outside with water 2/3 up the side of the souffle dish. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. You can check this for no jiggling and continue baking if needed, BUT be very gentle with it. Carefully remove from oven and serve immediately.