Spinach Soufflé

It was the Queen's Birthday holiday here in New South Wales. Oddly, it's held on different dates in the states of Australia. I felt in the mood for making something light, not too complicated and able to be made from whatever was on the refrigerator. The spinach soufflé looked like it would do the trick.

I had two silver beet/Swiss chard leaves so I stripped them of their harder stems and cooked them for a few minutes with some baby spinach leaves that were also in the fridge. They were then squeezed of all moisture and chopped finely.

I made a roux of 30g butter and 25g flour and added 200ml milk and whisked it until it had thickened. It was taken off the heat and the spinach was stirred in, followed by 100g grated cheddar cheese. When it had cooled a little further, four egg yolks were stirred in.

The four egg whites were now beaten until stiff. The recipe called for five egg whites but I decided it could do without the extra rise. One-third of the mixture was now folded into the egg whites, followed by the remainder of the mixture.

It all went into a buttered soufflé dish and into a 200ºC oven for 25 minutes. It looked good at this stage but I gave it a little shake and it felt as though it needed just a little more time. I turned off the oven and gave it another 10 minutes. I do enjoy my soufflés to be a little drier.

With a small salad to have on the side this turned out to be just what was needed for a relaxing night.

Taste: ✔✔✔
East of cooking: ✔✔✔