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