BEGINNER'S TWICE BAKED SPINACH SOUFFLES
BREAKFAST STRATA WITH COUNTRY SAUSAGE
BEGINNER'S TWICE BAKED SPINACH SOUFFLES
Serves 6
This recipe is adapted from a recipe by culinary authority and soufflé master Anne Willan. It's the perfect recipe for beginners because it demonstrates how easy soufflés are to manipulate. Then, in a worst case scenario, there's also a sauce, and a sauce will cover many a sin!
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, more for the ramekins
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
5 large egg yolks
7 large egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 400° Generously butter six 8-ounce ramekins. Set aside.
Drain the spinach very well. (You do not want of any extra liquid, or it will bake into a soggy, tasteless mass.) Place the spinach in a fine mesh sieve and use the back of a spoon to press out as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet; add the shallot and sauté over medium heat until it is soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the well-drained spinach and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture is well combined and all the moisture is cooked out, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
To make the béchamel sauce: Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk in the flour, and cook until foaming but not browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk. Add the cayenne, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Once it is at a boil, continue cooking stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
Transfer about a third of the sauce to a small saucepan. Add the cream and stir to combine. Set aside.
Stir the spinach into the remaining sauce and taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the egg yolks one at a time so they cook in the heat of the sauce and thicken it slightly.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
Add about a quarter of the beaten egg whites to the sauce mixture and stir until well mixed. Pour this mixture over the remaining whites and fold them together as lightly as possible.
Fill the prepared ramekins with the mixture, smoothing the tops with a metal spatula. Run your thumb around the inside rim of each dish, making a shallow "moat" around the edge of the batter. This will help the soufflés to rise straight up. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the soufflés are puffed and browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove the soufflés from the oven to a rack to cool. Turn each soufflé out into a gratin dish. Set aside. (Do not adjust the temperature of the oven or turn the oven off.)
Bring the reserved cream sauce to a boil. Add the mustard and half of the Gruyère cheese and the freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Stir to combine then taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
Spoon over about 1/4 cup of the sauce on top of the soufflés to coat then sprinkle each evenly with the remaining Gruyère (The soufflés may be held at this point in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap for up to 24 hours.)
Return the soufflés to the oven. Bake the soufflés until browned, slightly puffed, and the sauce is bubbling, 7 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
BREAKFAST STRATA WITH COUNTRY SAUSAGE
Serves 8
Strata is the plural of stratum, and whether we’re talking about rocks or recipes, it refers to layering. Here, it is a breakfast casserole layered and bound with custard, almost like a savory bread pudding. What’s great about a strata is that it should be prepared and refrigerated the night before. The next morning, all you need to do is let it come to room temperature on the counter and bake.
I’ve used fresh sage, an herb with soft, fuzzy gray-green leaves and a slightly bitter finish, to complement the flavor of the sausage and create another layer of
flavor. It goes well with poultry, pork, and veal. Look for fresh bunches with no bruising and a clean, pungent aroma.
1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for the dish
1/2 pound bulk pork or turkey country sausage
1 onion, preferably Vidalia, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2 baguettes, cubed
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 11/2 ounces)
6 large eggs
21/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Brush a large gratin dish with some of the oil.
To cook the sausage, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until it begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and red and yellow bell peppers and saute until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds.
To assemble the strata, place half of the bread cubes in the prepared gratin dish and top with half of the sausage mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the grated cheese over the sausage mixture and top with the remaining bread cubes and sausage.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, sage, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the custard over the strata. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Let the chilled strata stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Bake the strata for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese; continue baking until the strata is puffed and golden brown, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. (If the top of the strata starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.) Remove to a rack to cool slightly. Serve hot or warm.
Virginia Willis Culinary Productions