AMANDA’S SMOKED CHEESE AND GEM SQUASH SOUFFLÉ (16)

AMANDA’S SMOKED CHEESE AND GEM SQUASH SOUFFLÉ

Cheese soufflé is one of my all-time favourite foods and although the word soufflé seems to provoke fear in anybody, it’s not that difficult… all you need to be able to do is these three things: make a cheese sauce, whisk egg whites and be patient.

2 halved gem squash (cooked till just firm and seeds removed)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
125 ml breadcrumbs
30 g butter, plus a little for coating
2 ½ tablespoons plain flour
250 ml milk (you may need a little less or more depending on how wet/dry your butter/flour paste is)
freshly ground salt and black pepper
60 g smoked cheese/Gruyère cheese
3 jumbo eggs
smoked paprika and chopped chives for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Scoop all the flesh from gem squash, add nutmeg, mash and let cool.
Keep squash shells.
Grate your cheese.
Separate the eggs and put the whites into a bowl you can use for whisking.
Lightly butter your gem squash shells/soufflé dish and sprinkle in the breadcrumbs.
Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and, once melted, stir in the flour and beat until you have a smooth thick paste.
Stir this over the heat for a couple of minutes until the flour is cooked.
Take off the heat and gradually add the milk, stirring in each addition before adding more.
At first it will be quite thick and lumpy but it will start to thin as the milk is added and, if it remains lumpy, add a drop more milk or use a whisk instead of a spoon to help it along.
Once you have a smooth sauce, return the pan to the heat and gently bring the sauce to the boil (it will start to bubble), stirring all the time, until it starts to thicken.
Beat in the grated cheese with some salt and pepper. Add more cheese to taste if it’s not strong enough for you.
Add mashed gem squash.
Take it off the heat and leave it to cool. BE PATIENT!! It is important to leave it to cool because the raw egg yolk will be added to it and, if it’s too warm, you’ll end up with scrambled egg cheese sauce and not soufflé.
Once the sauce is much cooler (when I can taste it without burning my finger) beat in the egg yolk.
Finally whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, and fold into the sauce.
I use a metal spoon to do this.
Spoon the sauce into your prepared shells/dish and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
Have a quick peek at 18 minutes (if you’re feeling brave) and, if still very wobbly, leave it for a few more minutes.