Monday night souffles

We’re still striving for Meatless Mondays. It’s only fair.

It’s part of our attempt to reduce our carbon footprint. You can’t travel like we do without toting some emotional baggage about the effects of your indulgences.

You also can’t be an Australian and see what’s been happening in the last couple of weeks and not raise an eyebrow or two in the direction of climate change sceptics (cyclones and floods and heatwaves…oh my).

Most weeks our nod to vegetarianism is a variation on a theme; a salad of roasted vegetables, pulses and herbs. It gets the week off to a righteous start.

Yet this week when Monday rolled around I was struck with an unmistakable craving for the sooky centre of a souffle.

(I’m willing to bet $100 dollars that if my mother reads this she’s going to start tutting at her screen. “A souffle! On a Monday night! What is she doing!”)

So here’s a quick caveat. These aren’t Michelin specimens, by any means. They’re not dinner party-pretty. They just taste darn good.

These souffles are like the start of any week- a little distended and frumpy, trying their hardest to stretch up and make something of themselves.

They’re no more difficult to throw together than a lasagne. They’re soothing and soft in a way that only the mingling of egg and dairy can manage.

For this iteration I had every intention to use goat’s curd- but when I went to do the shopping I plum forgot it.

So instead I  tumbled in some Boursin and parmesan for extra bite.

For cut through and contrast there was a splodge of balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes, bound together with some quince jam for extra sweetness. I reasoned both tomatoes and quince are friends with goat’s cheese- surely they can be friends with each other too? It turns out I was right. 

After twelve minutes in the oven they were ready. Zippy with cheese but soothing with egg. We dipped asparagus spears into their bellies and scooped the rest up with toast.

They were such charming companions that it now seems mean to constrain them to Mondays. Or to dinner.  Souffles; consider yourself  invited to Saturday brunch.

Cheesey souffles with roast tomato relish 

Makes enough for 3 small ramekins- enough to feed one me and one Hungry One.

Shopping/foraging

25g butter (plus an extra melted tablespoon to brush the ramekins)
25g plain flour
250 ml milk
3 eggs, separated
125 grams of goat’s cheese, or Boursin
50 grams of grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon of salt
Cracked black pepper

Roasted tomato relish

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
(optional 1 tablespoon of quince jam)

Equipment
3 ramekins, a whisk, a saucepan, a large mixing bowl, spatula and a pastry brush.

Here’s how we roll


1) Warm the milk until it’s hot to touch.
2) Make a bechamel sauce by melting the 25 grams of butter and then adding the flour.

Stir the two together over a medium heat for two minutes until it forms a glossy paste and changes colour to that of a digestive biscuit.  Add half a cup of the warm milk and whisk it together. Add the rest of the milk and stir it all together with a whisk. Turn the heat down slightly and cook it for five minutes, whisking to stop lumps forming at the bottom or in the corners. You want the sauce to thicken like custard.  When it has, put it to the side to cool.
3) Prepare the ramekin moulds. Melt a tablespoon of butter. Using a pastry brush, coat the ramekins by brushing upwards (this supposedly helps encourage the souffles to rise).

Dust the insides with grated parmesan and black pepper. Put them in the fridge to set.
4) Separate the three eggs.
5) When the bechamel has cooled add the three egg yolks, the goats cheese, nutmeg, dijon mustard and salt.
6) Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.
7) Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

8) Fold the egg whites into the cheesey mix in two steps.

9) Gently spoon the souffle mix  into the ramekins. Bake for 12-15 minutes until they’re puffed and golden. Don’t open the oven while they’re cooking.

10) Serve immediately with steamed asparagus spears for dipping, really crunchy bread and a dollop of the roast tomato relish (while you’re doing the earlier prep roast cherry tomatoes that have been drizzled with olive oil and balsamic for 45 minutes). Smush them together with a tablespoon of quince jam. Sounds bizarre, but trust me, it works.