There is a misplaced fear of cooking souffles, which are really rather easy. Make sure that you whisk the egg whites well and that you fold them in carefully; don’t open the oven door half-way through cooking, and you should be fine.
350 g/12 oz courgettes, topped and tailed
50 g/2 oz butter
50 g/2 oz plain white or wholemeal flour
300 ml/1/2 pint milk
pinch nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black Pepper
75 g/3 oz Caerphilly or
Wensleydale cheese, grated
4 x 15 ml spoons/4 tbsp chopped
parsley
4 eggs, separated
Methods:
Grease a 1 litre/2 pint souffle dish thoroughly, tie a collar of lightly greased greaseproof paper around the outside of the dish so that it stands about 5 cm/2 inches above the top of the dish and secure with string. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
Cook the courgettes in boiling water until tender. Drain and cool. Chop very finely or place in a food processor ( take care not to over-process).
Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly; take off the heat and gradually add the milk. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring until thickened. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, beat in the cheese and cool slightly. Beat in the egg yolks, then stir in the courgettes and parsley. Whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Fold about one-third of the egg whites in very thoroughly then fold in the remainder carefully, do not worry if they are not perfectly folded in, this is better than overworking.
Turn the mixture into the soufflé dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until well risen and golden-brown.
Variations
Asparagus soufflé
Replace the courgettes with 375 g/10 oz package frozen asparagus, cooked until tender.
Cheese and watercress soufflé
Increase cheese to 100 g/4 oz, and chop or process 1/2 bunch watercress leaves and use in place of courgettes.
Spinach soufflé
Replace the courgettes with 450 g/1 lb spinach leaves, cooked with only the water clinging to the leaves, until just tender. Drain well and chop finely.