Cheese Souffle Cockaigne
Recipe By : Joy of Cooking
White Sauce
:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 small onion -- whole
- 2 whole cloves
- 1/2 small bay leaf
- salt and pepper -- to taste
- nutmeg -- to taste
- 5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese -- grated
- 2 tablespoons Gruyere cheese -- shredded
- 3 egg yolk -- beaten
- 4 egg whites
- aged swiss cheese -- thinly sliced
White Sauce
: Melt butter over low heat. Add flour and blend over
low
heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir milk in slowly. Add the onion, studded
with the cloves the half bay leaf. Cook and stir the sauce with
a wire
whisk or wooden spoon until thickened and smooth.
Place in a
350 degree
oven for 20 minutes to cook slowly.
The oven interval also saves
your
time and hands for other kitchen jobs. Strain the sauce. Season
to taste
and add a grating of nutmeg. Remove from heat 1/2 minute.
Add to the prepared white sauce the Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses
and the
beaten egg yolks, stirring well. Beat the egg whites until stiff
but not
dry and then fold into the cheese mixture. Pour into one 7-inch
or four
individual prepared baking dishes. You may decorate the souffles
before
baking with the thinly (paper-thin) sliced swiss cheese, cut into
fancy
shapes. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set.