Asparagus-Gouda Souffles

I decided to start my blog with the ever-temperamental soufflé. I bet you've seen food shows where the cook prays out loud that their soufflé doesn't sink and makes the sign of the cross. Of course this sparked my curiosity...do the planets really have to be in alignment for a soufflé to turn out? Why are these cooks scared to open the oven and discover the end result? Well, I don't have the scientific explanation for why a soufflé would sink or why it has to be prepared a certain way. Nor do I have the experience to tell you that I've experimented with different recipes and techniques of preparing a soufflé.

Friday, March 18, 2011 I attempted to make an Asparagus-Gouda Soufflé for the first time. In fact, it’s my first time making a soufflé at all and I admit I did the sign of the cross before I put my soufflés in the oven! Of course they turned out wonderful otherwise the tone of my writing would be A LOT different.

NOTE: The original recipe, from Eating Well's April 2011 issue, called for goat cheese but I couldn't find an aged goat cheese that I liked so I used a Gouda. Below is the recipe including my tweaks.

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

8 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup diced Gouda cheese

Position rack on the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat 6 ramekins with cooking spray and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

Fill a large skillet with an inch of water and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for about 3 minutes, depending on your preference of doneness. Put asparagus in a colander and run cold water over it; drain.

In a small saucepan heat milk on medium heat until hot. Simultaneously, in a large saucepan melt butter then add flour, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Remove large saucepan from burner, slowly whisk in hot milk, turn heat to medium-low and return to burner. Whisk milk until it thickens, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and whisk in 4 egg yolk one at a time. Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in asparagus and cheese; set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites. When eggs white are foamy, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Continue to beat eggs until the peak doesn’t flop over.

Using a rubber spatula add 1/3 of the egg whites to the asparagus mixture and mix well; gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Put mixture into ramekins, do the sign of the cross and bake the soufflés on the bottom rack until puffy and golden, about 24 minutes or 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Enjoy!