Cheese Soufflé
I will readily admit to having a deep fondness for Jacques Pépin. I learned so much from watching him on my television when I was a teenager. I spent a lot of time watching him on PBS, taking notes on scraps of paper and marveling as he effortlessly made something beautiful and delicious. Am I the only one that remembers the way he handled a paring knife, creating those little garnishes with what seemed like one move of his knife?
His easygoing manner and love of food is something I still enjoy today. I often watch his videos on YouTube and Facebook and he’s still teaching me new techniques to try in my kitchen. This soufflé recipe is one of them.
Please don’t let the name of this dish deter you. Yes, it is a soufflé. No, it isn’t difficult or time consuming to create. It’s decidedly unfussy and easy to pull together. It can actually be made a bit ahead of time and baked when you are ready. It doesn’t even require a soufflé dish.
It should be no surprise that Jacques would take a dish known for its neediness, known for collapsing in an oven if you dared to open the door or close a nearby cabinet too forcefully and transform it into something a beginning cook can easily master. Yet I found myself wondering if it would actually come together when I decided to make it for the first time.
It did and the results were astounding. The soufflé was every bit as impressive to look at and delicious to eat. I was filled with pride at the tall and beautifully browned soufflé when I removed it from the oven. Then we tasted it and I knew that I would never make another soufflé recipe ever again.
I haven’t changed Jacques’ recipe much at all. I’ve adapted it slightly to suit our likes and dislikes. I always include 6 eggs because we have such a bounty of fresh eggs from our hens. I like to use a combination of Swiss and Gruyere cheese because we love the flavor and I tend to keep both of these cheeses on hand in our deli drawer. You can easily use an equal amount of your favorite cheese or combine several to create a dish that is your own and flavored to your liking.
This is a marvel of a dish and a stunner. Every time I make it, I am amazed at how beautiful and impressive it looks both as I remove it from the oven and when we place it on our dinner plates. It’s also versatile. It pairs deliciously with a steak, pork chop, or roast chicken. It’s also hearty enough to serve with a salad and a glass of wine.
No matter how you choose to make your version of this dish, I do hope that you will give it a try. It’s worthy of being the star on your dinner plate sometime soon. I can promise you that it’s going to find its way onto mine this week.
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The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin
If you have the inclination, pick up a copy of Jacques’ autobiography. It’s a fascinating read and includes a few of his favorite family recipes. It includes the recipe for this soufflé and the explanation for its unique preparation.
if you appreciate him the way that I do, it will be a fascinating read, a look at the boy who began working in professional kitchens when he wasn’t quite tall enough to see into the pots that were on the stove. The handful of recipes included are merely a delicious bonus.
I reach for this Mason Cash Square Baker when I make this recipe.
This dish is just the right size for this recipe. It bakes up evenly and creates the perfect texture on the outside edges.
You can use any oven safe baking vessel from a casserole dish to a medium sized pot with a 6-8 cup capacity to allow for the expansion of the soufflé as it bakes.
Cheese Soufflé
Equipment
- 6 – 8 cup Oven Safe Casserole Dish (or an oven safe pot if you prefer)
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons butter , divided
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese , divided
- 6 tablespoons All-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large eggs
- 6 ounces shredded cheese (I use a combination of Swiss and Gruyere)
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to butter the bottom and sides of your baking dish. Sprinkle about half of the Parmesan cheese over the butter. You don’t need to fully coat the baking dish, just add a bit of Parmesan to the surface of the dish. As the soufflé bakes, the Parmesan will add delicious flavor to the outside surface of the soufflé. Set the baking dish on a cookie sheet or baking sheet and set aside as you prepare the batter.
- In a medium saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk or stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir as the flour and butter combine. Cook, moving the mixture constantly until it swells slightly and takes on a golden color. Do not cook the roux long enough to brown.
- Add the cold milk in one addition while whisking briskly to help the roux disperse into the liquid. Continue to whisk occasionally to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan as the mixture heats and comes to a gentle boil. The roux will thicken the milk as it comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat once the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Allow the mixture to rest and cool for five to ten minutes. While it rests, prepare the eggs. Break the eggs into a medium bowl. Use a fork or whisk to break them up and create a frothy, smooth mass of egg.
- When the sauce has cooled a bit, temper the eggs to prevent them from scrambling from the heat of the sauce. This can easily be achieved by adding a bit of the warm sauce to the room temperature (or cold) eggs to warm them slightly before adding them to the saucepan. Give the sauce mixture a stir to make it easier to work with and then add approximately half of the sauce to the bowl with the eggs while stirring or whisking to combine. Once the egg/sauce mixture is fully combined and smooth, transfer it into the saucepan and stir to combine.
- Add the shredded cheese, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to the sauce and stir until well combined. Transfer the mixture to your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top and add a sprinkling of dried thyme if desired.
- Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The soufflé will puff up and often above the edges of the baking pan while baking. The exposed sides and top will brown and the middle should be set when it is fully baked.
- Remove the soufflé from the oven and serve immediately. While the soufflé will hold its shape for a few minutes, it deflates rather quickly so digging in immediately beats gravity to the punch.
We feel nervous always when start to adapt any recipe from television or videos. It is great to know that you made a perfect souffle with your own in-house eggs. That is nice. As you said, i too like different cheeses to make it more cheesy and stretchy.
I feel like the combination is even more delicious!