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    Tuesday, September 02, 2008

    Back To Old Favourites - Courgette Souffle

    I had bought a couple of courgettes.
    They are very expensive at the moment and are imported from Australia.
    Anyway - nice for a change.
    One of my most favourite soufflés is Mrs. Elizabeth David’s Courgette Soufflé.
    This is from her French Provincial Cooking a bible of mine.
    Well used as you can see.
    Don't be frightened of soufflés...they are really easy and so so good



    I have a pot of mint in the kitchen, and thought I would add a little of that
    and see how it worked out.

    Well actually it worked out just fine.

    The mint was quite subtle so next time, I would increase the amount of leaves
    but it was a sensational lunch anyway.

    I followed the classic recipe so here it is…just a couple of small changes.
    First the addition of the mint and I didn’t salt the courgettes as she said.
    I think when her books were written, vegetables like courgettes and aubergine were bitter and needed to be salted to remove any bitterness.
    Apparently over many years the vegetables have been developed without bitterness.
    The liquid from the courgettes will be absorbed with the cooking.

    Pre-heat oven to 190C
    Butter a 1 1/2 souffle dish

    Ingredients
    400gms courgettes finely sliced
    2 whole eggs and 2 extra egg whites
    5 tablespoon of grated gruyere cheese
    8 mint leaves finely sliced
    2 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan

    Bechamel Sauce
    2tbs butter
    2 tablespoon flour
    and a scant 1/4 pint warmed milk

    The sauce well seasoned with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt
    Don’t forget the cheese will be salty so taste before you add salt.

    Method
    So cook the sliced courgettes gently with a little salt till soft and all liquid absorbed
    This will take up to 10 minutes.
    Don't let it dry out

    Puree
    Meanwhile make béchamel sauce
    Add courgette puree, grated gruyere and mint
    Add the well beaten egg yolks
    Beat the eggs whites to soft peaks
    Stir in 1 tablespoon egg white mix well to loosen the mixture
    Then carefully fold in the whites
    Pour into prepared soufflé dish
    Sprinkle top with grated Parmesan
    Hint from Mrs David which I didn’t notice at the time…
    (Hence my soufflé rising higher on one side.)
    With the palette knife, mark a deep circle an inch or so from the edge, so that the soufflé will come out with a cottage loaf look to the top

    Place in a pan of hot water and bake for 30-35 minutes
    Don’t open the oven door

    Anyway it was a great texture and tasted fabulous.
    Lovely pale green colour.

    You could make this in miniature soufflé dishes
    6 little 4 oz dishes.
    Cook for 23 minutes.

    Great lunch.

    Jenn from The Left Over Queen
    had this list sent to her.

    The idea is to Bold out all the items you have eaten
    Put crosses next to any items you would never consider

    You may have to google some of the items I did.

    The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

    I have only tried 63 not as good as I thought.

    1. Venison
    2. Nettle tea XXX
    3. Huevos rancheros
    4. Steak tartare
    5. Crocodile (well I have had alligator)
    6. Black pudding
    7. Cheese fondue
    8. Carp
    9. Borscht
    10. Baba ghanoush
    11. Calamari
    12. Pho
    13. PB&J sandwich
    14. Aloo gobi
    15. Hot dog from a street cart
    16. Epoisses (would love to try!)
    17. Black truffle (and infused oil)
    18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
    19. Steamed pork buns
    20. Pistachio ice cream
    21. Heirloom tomatoes
    22. Fresh wild berries
    23. Foie gras
    24. Rice and beans
    25. Brawn or Head Cheese
    26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (bit hot for me)
    27. Dulce de leche
    28. Oysters
    29. Baklava
    30. Bagna cauda

    31. Wasabi peas
    32. Clam Chowder
    in Soudough Bowl
    33. Salted Lassi
    34. Sauerkraut
    35. Root beer float (Root beer hasn’t taken off in NZ)
    36. Cognac with a Fat Cigar
    37. Clotted Cream Tea (Devonshire Tea)
    38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O
    39. Gumbo
    40. Oxtail
    41. Curried goat (Will try when available)

    42. Whole insects XXX
    43. Phaal
    44. Goat’s milk XXX (Don’t like any milk but love goats cheese)
    45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
    46. Fugu XXX You have to be brave for this
    47. Chicken tikka masala
    48. Eel

    49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
    50. Sea urchin XXX
    51. Prickly pear
    52. Umeboshi
    53. Abalone
    54. Paneer
    55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
    56. Spaetzle
    57. Dirty gin martini (Have to try one of these)
    58. Beer above 8% ABV (not sure)
    59. Poutine (This sounds like Canadian Nachos!)
    60. Carob chips XXX (I won’t eat carob)
    61. S’mores
    62. Sweetbreads
    63. Kaolin (can’t find out what it is)
    64. Currywurst ( These are German curried sausages…I'll say yes - there ya go)
    65. Durian XXX (too smelly)
    66. Frogs’ legs
    67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears
    or funnel cake
    68. Haggis
    69. Fried plantain
    70. Chitterlings (I’ll stick with Haggis)
    72. Caviar and blini
    73. Louche absinthe
    74. Gjetost or brunost (This is a Norwegian treat haven’t ever seen it)
    75. Roadkill (I don’t think so) XXX
    76. Baijiu
    77. Hostess Fruit Pie (not available in NZ)
    78. Snail
    79. Lapsang Souchong (I’m not a tea person)
    80. Bellini
    81. Tom Yum
    82. Eggs Benedict
    83. Pocky (a Japanese snack)
    84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu (I am so planning to do this!)
    85. Kobe beef
    86. Hare
    87. Goulash
    88. Flowers
    89. Horse
    90. Criollo chocolate (It’s apparently available in NZ have to track it down).
    91. Spam
    92. Soft shell crab
    93. Rose Harissa (I have only had regular Harissa )
    94. Catfish
    95. Mole Poblano (I want to try a real Mole, think Mexican, not animals)
    96. Bagel and Lox
    97. Lobster Thermidor

    98. Polenta
    99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
    100. Snake (had it Hong Kong)

    Give this a go its fun

    5 comments:

    Thistlemoon said...

    Wow that souffle looks grand!

    Maryam in Marrakesh said...

    Your souffle looks delicious. I am embarrassed to say that I have never made a souffle before. Can mini-souffles be made?

    So So Simple said...

    Jenn
    They are impressive and so easy.

    Maryam Yes Just use little souffle dishes and cook for about 20 minutes

    Great for a starter

    Anonymous said...

    Per No.63 - Kaolin is a chalky, milk of magnesia mixture given to soothe upset stomachs some years ago. Personally it just made me more sick.

    So So Simple said...

    Thank you for that about Kaolin Is it an American thing?