Castilian cheese and herbs soufflé

Preparing soufflé (soufflé, as Miriam rightly says) is an ideal option when you have guests... and now dates are approaching when, who more who less, will have some commitment! Preparing it is within everyone's reach, but certain guidelines must be followed to make it look good. So I leave you with the advice of the author of The Winter Guest , and with this delicious cheese and herbs soufflé.

The soufflé… that arcane. Or that is the idea we have of soufflés, a difficult preparation reserved only for the poshest and wisest chefs, forbidden to mere mortals. And something old, it sounds a bit old-fashioned, right? Confess yes.

Well, we are going to make it fashionable again, remind us, because it is much easier to do than you think, it is a very attractive invention because the diners' eyes pop out of their sockets when we take it out to the table, and the most important: a well seasoned soufflé is very rich. And it's a fantastic starter idea for Christmas parties. Don't thank me, it doesn't matter.

As we were going, within the salty soufflés (because there are also sweet ones) those with cheese are a classic, because the combination of eggs with cheese is always safe.

By the way, yes, it is written soufflé because the spelling has been adapted. That there will always be some firecracker who wonders why I write it wrong. Yes, you, do not hide.

Salty soufflés consist of a base that gives the flavor, which is usually a béchamel or a more or less fluid mashed potato. They can have solid lumps or not, but what is essential is the incorporation of a foam of egg whites, beaten to the point of snow, which is what makes them rise, fluff up and turn out to be soft and airy. Let's go with the recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. of butter
• 3 tbsp. plain flour
• 180 ml of whole milk
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 4 yolks
• 6 whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of cream of tartar
• 110 g of Castilian or Manchego cheese (cured or semi-cured, depending on how strong we like the flavor)
• 1 tbsp. by kirsch
• chopped chives or basil to taste
• some breadcrumbs

Elaboration

1. Before getting down to work, a good mise en place is essential, that is, leaving all the measured ingredients and the necessary utensils at hand, and having read the recipe from top to bottom, because once we have the béchamel ready, we must add it Immediately the rest of the ingredients and as soon as we have the ramekins full we must put them immediately in the oven so that the mixture does not go down.
2. So we will heat the oven to 190° (without air, with heat above and below) with a tray on the lowest level and with a dish where we will add the water from the bain-marie later. This is how we make sure that the oven is at the right temperature when we finish the previous preparation.
3. We will also put water to heat, to add it to the bain-marie source as soon as we put the ramekins in the oven.
4. Spread four ramequins with butter, covering them well, and sprinkle them with breadcrumbs or the same grated cheese.
5. Grate the cheese and nutmeg, and reserve them. Chop the herbs and keep covered so they don't dry out.
6. We will have previously had the eggs and whites at room temperature for at least an hour; they grow much more when mounted than if they are cold. We separate the yolks from the whites. To the egg whites we add the cream of tartar and the pinch of salt, add the two extra egg whites and leave them reserved.
7. Make the béchamel: put the butter in a saucepan or small frying pan and melt it.
8. Add the flour and cook with the butter until browned, stirring with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Add the warm milk at once and beat quickly with a whisk so that no lumps form.
9. Add the egg yolks, the kirsch and some salt, and mix very well. Let the mixture cool down a bit and start beating the whites. We will beat them until stiff, but not very firm, so that it is easier to mix them with the béchamel.
10. Just before the egg whites are ready, mix the cheese and herbs with the béchamel with yolks, homogenizing well. The cheese should not be mixed when the béchamel is still too hot so that it does not melt prematurely.
11. When the egg whites are assembled, we take only a ladle and mix it with the béchamel, to make it a little more fluid, with a spatula and soft, enveloping movements. Then we pour the béchamel mixture over the whipped egg whites and mix again with soft and enveloping movements, but firm. The object is that the whites go down as little as possible before reaching the oven.
12. When the mixture is quite homogeneous, we distribute it in the ramekins . They are filled to the top. We immediately put the ramekins in the oven on the prepared dish and add the boiling water in the dish, up to a height of a couple of fingers, no more is needed.
13. We cook the cheese soufflés for about 15-17 minutes, although the exact time depends on each oven; you have to keep an eye on them, always without opening the oven door until they have risen well. You will see that it almost seems that they are going to jump out of the ramekins .
14. We try with a skewer that they are curdled and we serve them immediately, because they go down visibly.

Pallarès carbon steel knife , De Buyer copper saucepan and set of four Emile Henry ramekins