The incredible edible
By Jody Stump
Which came first? From what I know of DNA and Darwin, I’d have to guess the egg. From watching the mystery of life unfold in my palm tree, I’d still say the egg.
Our Lady Hummingbird returned to her nest and once again laid a pair of tiny, translucent eggs. Once again, only one hatched-and the bird grew and grew until he overwhelmed the nest with his chin resting on one edge and his belly, the other. Hummingbirds lay two eggs with one in reserve. If the first baby doesn’t hatch, the second one does; otherwise, the spare seems to become sustenance for the first-born.
I thought about this “miracle in a shell,” as Russ Parsons terms the egg in “How to Read a French Fry.” Almost pure protein with a bit of fat in the yolk and a lot of water in the white, an egg performs the astounding feat of holding together oil and water. Whip a yolk with oil and lemon juice and presto, you’ve got mayonnaise. Heat the yolks gently while beating with milk and you have custard, an alchemy made possible, Parsons tells us, by the loosening of the yolk’s fatted protein strands. Whip pure protein, the white, and you have strung out those gluey strands into angel hair perfection-meringue. Reunite custard and meringue and you have another miracle-souffl.
CHEESE SOUFFLE
In the passions of the moment, I hesitate to publish a dish with Franco-roots-I almost translated the French word, souffl, into its English equivalent, “breath”-a lovely expression of its essence.
MOCK: A French-free version
This dish hails from Britain where souffls were apt to collapse when the steamy puffed pudding emerged from a hot oven into an ever-chill kitchen. Avoiding the shock was easy if the custard was supported by a thick layer of leftover squishy bread. This is easy enough for children to make with an added virtue-the whole dish is best assembled the day before and allowed to rest overnight in the refrigerator.
Serves 6 -8
8 slices good quality white bread or challah, buttered
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/ 2 tsp. salt
Dash of Tabasco
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1. Butter a 2-quart souffl dish. Sprinkle Parmesan around the dish to coat.
2. Layer half the bread slices in the bottom of the dish, butter side up. Cut to fit. Cover with half the cheese. Repeat.
3. Whisk together all other ingredients and pour over the bread and cheese.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the souffl and cook until the top is puffy-about 45 minutes.
The Real Thing:
For me, there is tremendous satisfaction in transforming a simple egg into a showstopper-four eggs, into the most elegant of dinner parties. Once the basic technique is mastered, a souffl is incredibly versatile-it can be made sweet or savory from almost anything in the pantry or left over in the fridge.
Two keys unlock the mysteries of a perfect souffl. The first is easy: all ingredients must be at room temperature. Turning the second key requires a bit of finesse: beat the whites really hard until they hold their shape and then treat them with great tenderness when you reunite them, very quickly, with the yolks.
Serves 6
1/ 2 stick unsalted butter
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan
3 Tbs. flour
1/ 2 tsp. cayenne
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature or warmer
3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
4 egg whites, room temperature
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Using 1 tablespoon of butter, grease the bottom and sides of a 2-quart souffl dish. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Parmesan to coat.
3. Make a white sauce: Melt the remaining butter until it begins to smell fragrant. Whisk in the flour to form a paste. Gradually, whisk in cayenne and milk, cooking until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool slightly for 10 – 15 minutes-you want to be sure you don’t cook the eggs in the next step.
4. Whisk in the yolks and cheeses.
5. Beat the egg whites until shiny white and stiff, but not dry-about seven times the volume. You’re “breathing” in the air they need to rise. Stir a large spoonful into the yolks.
6. Quickly, gently fold the whites into the yolks. Transfer to the souffl dish.
7. Bake 25 minutes, until the top is well puffed and golden. It should still wobble when you take it out since the souffl will continue to cook on its way to the table.