Twice-baked souffle with chicory, pear & walnut salad

The base of a souffle is classic bechamel sauce, seasoned with onions, bay, pepper and nutmeg. This particular recipe is made with Stilton and baked twice, with cream. Perfect for a dinner party, we like to serve this as a starter with a glass of Port.

TWICE BAKED STILTON SOUFFLÉ

2 ozs/50g sunflower oil
1½oz/40g flour flour
8ozs/225ml milk
5 egg whites
4 egg yolks (approx 4oz/100g)
cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper to taste
bay leaf
good pinch of nutmeg
1 small onion
4 ozs/120g Stilton, broken into small bits
6 ozs/180ml single cream

Method

1. Bring the milk to the boil with the bay leaf, nutmeg and onion. Strain and allow to cool.
2 Make a white sauce by mixing together the oil, flour and cooled milk – off the cooker. Then place on cooker and cook until thickened.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the egg yolks, one at time, carefully to the mixture. Beat well all the time so that the eggs do not curdle.
4. Then add the crumbled Stilton to the mixture.
5. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
6. Stiffly beat the egg whites and then fold in first one quarter to the egg yolk mixture to ‘slacken’ it and then add the other three quarters. Do not over mix.
7. Pour into 4 ramekins that have been very well buttered.
8. Place the ramekins in a large baking tray and pour about ¾” boiling water around them then place the tray on a shelf in the middle of the oven.
9. Bake in oven 350ºF/180ºC for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
10. When almost cold, run a knife around the edge of each ramekins and drop the souffles, one at a time, into your hand. Place each on a small baking dish. Repeat for all four ramekins.
11. If the souffles are not to be eaten soon, cover with cling flim and refrigerate until required.
12. When ready to eat, pour the cream around the base of the souffles and place in preheated oven 350ºF/180ºC for about 25 minutes until browned and well risen. Serve immediately.

If you don’t want to twice-bake your souffle you can simply eat it once it has cooked for 20 minutes.

CHICORY PEAR AND WALNUT SALAD

for each person allow :
½ piece of chicory
½ flavoursome pear
small handful of fresh walnuts
small piece of Gorgonzola/Stilton cheese if desired
1 recipe of walnut oil dressing

METHOD

1. Separate the chicory into leaves so that you have a bowl of long chicory leaves.
2. Slice the pears lengthwise in quarters and then cut in half again and again if thinner slices are desired.
3. Place the sliced pears in cold water to which lemon juice has been added. This will stop the pears from oxidising before being dressed. Drain well before using.
4. Arrange the chicory and elegantly cut pears in a flat dish. Sprinkle over the walnuts and crumble over the Gorgonzola/Stilton if desired.
5. Dress lightly with the walnut oil dressing. Serve immediately.

HAZELNUT OR WALNUT OIL DRESSING

¼ cup sherry/chardonnay/cabernet sauvignon vinegar
¼ cup hazelnut/walnut oil
½ cup mild flavoured olive oil – make sure that it is mild to avoid overpowering hazelnut/walnut oil
1 small clove of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients in a leak proof bottle.
2. Shake well until all ingredients are blended.
3. For a well amalgamated, creamy dressing, use a blender to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
4. Use sparingly to coat salad ingredients lightly.

Category
Recipes