These little cuties are honestly a pain-in-the-butt to make, but really, really tasty. Each step isn't difficult at all, and it only took me about half an hour to prepare everything (with help, as is the best way to cook); the checking and testing was the most painful part, especially 20 minutes in when the house started to fill with the smell of baking cheese and bacon... Mmmmm.... They're like miniature quiches with an added portion of fluff!
Cheddar-Bacon Soufflé
(adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheddar-Bacon-and-Scallion-Souffle-12789)
[Makes about 5]
*Here are a few things to remember in order to make effective soufflé:
1. Don't over-beat your egg whites. If they're limp, try adding a pinch more salt.
2. Don't be afraid to use timers. They're really helpful, and say nothing about your prowess.
3. Don't open the oven, no matter how good it smells, until at least 3/4 of the suggested baking time has elapsed. They will fall and be miserable if you disturb them too early.
D. Soufflés are generally done when the tops are golden-brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (like a cupcake, with way more work involved).
5. Serve soufflés as soon as possible after removal from oven. They'll fall, which is natural, but you really want to savor the fluffiness for as long as possible. Nom alacriously.*
Materials:
- small food processor or cutting board + good knife
- cheese grater
- wooden spoon for the roux
- whisk
- rubber spatula (really, really use a rubber one; it's for folding egg whites, so be gentle)
- hand or electric mixer
- measuring cups & spoons
- small heavy-bottomed saucepan (going for depth here, not breadth)
- skillet (for bacon)
- 2 potholders
- 5 ramekins (mine are 8oz.)
- 1 cookie sheet / baking sheet, or a pan large enough to contain your ramekins
* I tend to measure all my ingredients out before preparation begins; it makes for smoother process and much less "where the bleep did I put that egg?!" or "I need how much flour?!" With that said, I recommend:
- 2 small sauce bowls for egg separation
- plate, paper towels and bowl for bacon prep
- 5 small bowls for onion, flour, milk, cheese and breadcrumbs
Ingredients:
- 6 slices lean bacon (uncooked, for now)
- 1/2 c. finely chopped onion (I used white, epicurious recommends scallions)
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 c. milk (I used 2% and it tasted great, but I expect whole milk would be marvelous)
- 1 1/2 c. coarsely grated cheddar (personal preference: the sharper the better)
- 4 large eggs, separated (make sure to put your whites into a clean and dry bowl; whites don't like to whip if there's oil, water or any contaminants present. Also, try to keep yolks intact, as you'll be adding them one by one later on.)
- a dash of salt and/or cream of tartar (for the egg whites)
- spices, to taste: cayenne pepper, paprika (I use sweet), black pepper, salt, truffle oil
- cooking spray
- bread crumbs (or panko, for extra crunch)
- brown sugar and/or maple syrup (for garnish/crust)
- brown sugar and/or maple syrup (for garnish/crust)
For the soufflé:
- Preheat oven to 375ºF
- Cook the bacon until crispy (or not, if you really prefer soft bacon). Reserve 2 Tbs. cooking fat. Blot dry, let cool a little, and crumble. (If you made the bacon soft, you might need to use a knife or your fingers to rip it into small pieces)
- In a small heavy saucepan, cook the onion in the 2 Tbs. butter (+ truffle oil, if you'd like,) and 2 Tbs. reserved bacon fat (or substitute more butter if your bacon didn't make that much fat) over moderately low heat (3 or 4), stirring (enter: wooden spoon) until the onions are softened (or if you basically puréed them like I did, stir for a minute and a half and move on)
- Stir in the 1/3 c. flour and cook the roux (fancy French term for "cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat") stirring constantly (or nearly) for 3 minutes (put on a timer, it'll puff up and do all sorts of weird things. Just roll with it).
- Get out your whisk! Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and boil the mixture (still whisking, ever whisking) for 2 minutes (timer again, it'll puff up and thicken).
- Remove pan from the heat and whisk in spices and cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. (Yes, this will be really thick and awful to whisk. Soldier on.)
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Whisk in the bacon. (Alternately, you can stir in your bacon. At this point, I realized that never before had I ever solid reason for uttering the phrase "There is bacon stuck in my whisk.")
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt or cream of tartar until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat!).
- Whisk about 1/4 of the fluff into the cheese-bacon-onion mixture, and fold in the remaining 3/4 gently but thoroughly (rubber spatula time! Streaks of white are ok in the final mixture; don't overmix, or your soufflé will be sad).
- Lightly coat the inside of each ramekin with cooking spray, and swirl in breadcrumbs (and/or brown sugar) to coat bottom and sides. (This is a trade secret; breadcrumbs help the soufflé "climb" up the walls of your container, adding to fluffiness and effective pouf.)
- Pour soufflé mix into your ramekins, filling to inside rim (or a little higher; the solidness of this recipe means the puffiness will be vertical and not overflow-horizontal, so you don't have to worry about mess).
- Place full ramekins on baking sheet, spacing evenly. Bake for 20 minutes at 375, then check the centers with a toothpick, lower the temperature to 350, and bake at 5-minute intervals until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Enjoy! =) (Drizzle with maple syrup for extra-breakfasty scrumptiousness!) (Be aware that the ramekins will be HOT when you remove them from the oven. I used paper towels to place one ramekin on each plate with silverware, and instructed my guests to handle the edges only. They'll cool down, and the soufflés are tasty reheated later as well, but they're the most delicious right out of the oven. Yummmmm!) (They're also not hugely filling. Good for a small meal, or as one course of many... breakfast-for-dinner, for instance, could consist of these + broiled grapefruit with brown sugar + savoury pancakes or tomato - sausage mousse + chilled fruit salad / sorbet!)
