Cheese Souffle
When I was a little girl, this was my favorite dish. It’s what I always wanted for special ocassions. Sometimes we would have it as a side dish to accompany a meaty main course, but more often we’d just have the souffle and a salad and call it dinner. This is my mom’s recipe, which came from her mom. Unlike “modern” souffle dishes, this one is easy and fairly forgiving and doesn’t call for a host of glamorous ingredients. If you’ve always wanted to try a souffle, this is a good one to start with. In fact, as souffles go, it’s pretty down home.
Cheese Souffle Recipe
- 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
- 3 T. flour
- 1 c. milk
- 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
- 3 eggs, separated
- 2 T. minced onion
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/8 t. paprika
Preheat oven to 375 and butter generously a 6 c. souffle dish (any casserole dish with tall, straight sides will work). Blend flour and milk in a saucepan over low heat, add butter and chese and cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is mleted and mixture is smooth and thick. Beat egg yolks and add milk mixture slowly, keep stirring! A wisk is good for this.
Then stir in the onion, salt and paprika. Beat the egg whites until stiff and almost dry. Fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture. (There’s nothing mysterious about this — just dump the egg whites in, and then blend the two mixtures together gently using an up and over motion. The egg whites will deflate a bit, don’t worry.)
Pour this int o your prepared dish, place the dish in a plan of warm water, and bake for about 45 minutes. Don’t open the oven door until close to the end of the baking time. It needs steady heat. The soufflewill puff up and become very brown, firm to the touch, and just a bit jiggly. Serve straight up with a salad or green vegetable. See? Easy!
Heather Forsyth