Chive And Goat Cheese Souffle Food

GOAT CHEESE SOUFFLé WITH THYME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish or an 8-cup gratin dish and coat it with the Parmesan. Heat the milk with the aromatics until it boils. Set it aside to steep for 15 minutes, then strain.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan. When foamy, stir in the flour and cook over low heat for several minutes. Whisk in the milk all at once and stir vigorously for a minute or so as it thickens, then add 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few twists of pepper, and the cayenne. Remove from heat. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until well blended, then stir in the cheese. Don't worry about getting it smooth.
• Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks, then stir a quarter of them into the base to lighten the mixture. Fold in the rest, transfer to the prepared dish, then put in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 375° F. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and just a bit wobbly in the center. Remove, scatter the thyme over the top, and serve immediately.

GOAT CHEESE SOUFFLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Rub inside of six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or ramekins with 2 tablespoons butter. Coat with breadcrumbs; tap out excess. Set aside.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium. Simmer mixture until very thick, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add half of goat cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Mix in salt and pepper. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot soufflé base. Cool 5 minutes.
• Beat whites in large bowl until stiff but not dry. Mix 1/4 of whites into soufflé base to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Fold in remaining goat cheese. Divide mixture among prepared soufflé dishes. Place in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of dishes.
• Bake soufflés until puffed and golden brown on top and softly set in center, about 20 minutes. Serve soufflés immediately in their dishes. Or for twice-baked version, cool soufflés in dishes in water for 5 minutes. Remove soufflés from water. Run small sharp knife around sides of dishes to loosen soufflés. Turn out onto buttered baking sheet. Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Before serving, rewarm soufflés on same sheet in 350°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.