Potato soufflés

I have a confession to make... I’ve watched “Twilight” and thought it was cute. :D

My friend told me she was going to see the movie and I acted like a fool – even joked about teen movies and such. After she told me how much she’d liked it, I decided to give it a try... and here I am now, feeling stupid for my prejudices. But I must say, in my defense, that Paramore is one of the things that put me off the movie. :D

If that hadn’t been a good lesson for me, here’s another one: I saw this recipe months ago and wondered how a simple potato soufflé could be good... Even though I love potatoes, a soufflé without other flavors added sounded too bland.

Guess what? I was wrong, again. :)

Potato soufflés
from Donna Hay magazine

melted butter, for brushing
1kg sebago (starchy) potatoes, peeled and chopped
100g butter
salt and black pepper
60g butter, extra
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
1 cup (240ml) milk
3 egg yolks
1 cup (100g) finely grated parmesan
5 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC. Brush 4 x 1 ¼ capacity (310ml) ovenproof dishes with melted butter, using upward brush strokes to help the soufflé raise; set aside.
Place the potato in a saucepan of cold salted water over high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Roughly mash the potato, add the butter, salt and pepper and mash until smooth. Set aside.
Melt the extra butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is sandy texture. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until thick. Place in a bowl with the mashed potato, egg yolks and cheese and mix to combine. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Fold through potato mixture. Spoon into the buttered dishes, place on a baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and golden.
Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Savory crepes filled with broccolini cheese soufflé

I have certain preconceptions, must admit it. That feeling of “haven’t seen it but don’t like it already” – I’ve tried going against that, but it didn’t work out... and I think it is worse now that I’m older - I’m more intolerant.

I read something the other day about Clint Eastwood’s new movie (hey, Mark, more imdb links for you!) :). Angelina Jolie is on it, so I won’t even bother - no time to waste. If the Oscar buzz involving her drives me nuts already, watching all that “talent” in action will do me no good.

But I’m not a bad person. I also have “haven’t seen it but like it already” moments. Or, in this case, “haven’t eaten but love it already”. :)

And what a great recipe this is! I slightly changed the filling and was really pleased with the result. Running late and starving, I pulled the crepes out of the oven the minute the filling puffed and firmed – that’s why mine don’t have a gorgeously golden crust like the ones Leila made. It's OK: I’ll solve that next time, when I make the crepes filled with hearts of palm soufflé. ;)

Savory crepes filled with broccolini cheese soufflé

Crepes:
125g all purpose flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300ml milk
generous pinch of salt
oil for brushing the pan

Filling:
225g broccolini florets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
45g unsalted butter
45g all purpose flour
300ml milk
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
120g cheddar, grated – I used yellow mozzarella from here, made with cow’s milk (it looks like Monterey Jack cheese)
fresh oregano leaves, to taste
4 tablespoons parmesan, finely grated
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

Start by making the crepes: sift the flour in a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Add the egg, egg yolk, salt and a few tablespoons of the milk. Whisk well. Gradually add the remaining milk, whisking between additions, until you have added all the milk and the batter is smooth (it will be a rather thin batter).

Heat a 22cm non-stick frying pan over medium heat and brush it lightly with oil. Pour 3 ½ tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling to cover the bottom completely. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden; flip the crepe and cook for further 1-2 minutes. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating the pan again if necessary – you’ll get 8 crepes.

Now, the filling: cook the broccolini florets in a pan of salted, boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, cover with cold water and drain again*.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the flour, stirring constantly; cook for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Put the pan back over heat, add the mustard, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and pepper, whisking until the cheeses melt. Remove from heat again and set aside to cool completely.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF; lightly brush a non-stick large baking sheet with oil.

Add the egg yolks to the cooled cheese mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Carefully fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture, then add the broccolini florets and oregano leaves.

Divide the filling in the center of the open crepes and fold them to encase the soufflé. Place the crepes in the prepared sheet, sprinkle with the extra parmesan (I forgot!) and bake for 15 minutes or until the soufflé is puffed and golden and the crepes are crisp.
Serve with a simple salad.

* I steamed the broccolini florets until al dente

Serves 4