Pantry Iron Chef – Ham and Cheese Souffle

I like to play a game which I like to call Pantry Iron Chef in honor of the famous cooking television show in which chefs battle by cooking a gourmet meal based around a secret theme ingredient.

My version is a solo version which involves me trying to make something delicious for dinner with the things that I happen to have lying around the house. It is a good way to save money because you’re utilizing things that you already have in your pantry. It also is a good way to get rid of leftover ingredients.

Last week I had some ham which I had cut into cubes and some leftover salad greens so I decided to make a ham and cheese souffle. It might sound hard, but it really isn’t. Admittedly, there are a lot of steps, but individually, they are pretty easy.

Ingredients

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • bread crumbs or grated Parmesan cheese
  • pinch of cream of tartar
  • ‘mix ins’ such as shredded cheese and ham cubes

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in the middle position.

Separate your eggs into two bowls.В  The whites should be in a large bowl which will be suitable for whipping. The yolks can be put into a smaller bowl such as a cereal bowl.

Prepare your souffle dish by rubbing a cold stick of butter around the sides and bottom of your souffle dish until the dish is covered with a thin layer of butter. Once the dish is covered in butter, sprinkle a small handful of bread crumbs or grated Parmesan cheese into the bottom of t he dish. Gently shake and rotate the dish until the butter is covered with the cheese/crumbs.

Place milk into the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes, or until warm.

In a small saucepan or saucier, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and mix to combine. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly for two minutes. Do not allow the mixture to brown. Add the milk all at once to the saucepan. Stir constantly and simmer until the mixture thickens. Season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

Add a pinch of cream of tartar to your egg whites and beat them until they form stiff peaks. This will allow your milk mixture a bit of time to cool so you can add your egg yolks without them scrambling. Add the egg yolks one at a time and incorporate between additions.

Now you have your souffle base and your egg whites so the only thing left to do is to combine them. If there is a trick to making a good souffle, and i am not saying that there is, it is combing the two ingredients properly. Combining these ingredients is done in four installments. For the first installment add one quarter of the egg white mixture to the souffle base and stir (If you don’t have a saucier, then you should transfer the souffle base into a large mixing bowl before adding the egg whites). Don’t be fussy about it. This installment is added to lighten the base so it is easier to fold for the next installments. В  Add the egg whites in three equal sized installments by gently folding the egg whites into the base. I forgot about my mix ins until this time so i added a large handful of shredded cheddar cheese and a handful of cubed ham at this point. Make sure you fold them in gently. Transfer the souffle mixture to the souffle dish. Place souffle dish in preheated oven and lower heat to 375 degrees.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until it is golden brown. Serve with a glass of white wine and a nice salad.

Discussion

Making a souffle requires the mastery of three skills:

  • folding
  • separating eggs
  • whipping egg whites into stiff peaks

I am not going to go into detail here because you can find the descriptions of these things elsewhere.

Any trace amounts of fat will make the whites not whip up properly so i like to separate my eggs as the first step. It doesn’t make any sense to me to butter the dish first, as so many recipes call for, because you will get butter all over your hands in the process. Ensure that your tools are all VERY clean and avoid using plastic in this process as fat clings to plastic like microscopic velcro.

Once your souffle is in the oven, keep the door closed or your souffle won’t puff up correctly. Do NOT peek by opening the oven for at least 25 minutes.

Get creative with your mixins.

  • cooked spinach
  • shredded smoked salmon
  • sauteed mushrooms
  • poached eggs (a classic)
  • ham
  • bacon
  • cooked broccoli

May 6, 2009   Posted in: Cooking Techniques

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