Zucchini Souffle

 

I was feeling particularly ambitious today and decided to make a zucchini souffle for lunch.  I have no idea what inspired me to make a souffle.  It's one of the few things that I have stayed away from in the kitchen.  I don't want to say that souffles intimidate me, but that's definitely part of it.  In all honestly, the main reason that I stay away from souffles is that I'm just not certain that they are really worth the effort.  It takes a lot of work (and a lot of mixing bowls) to make this dish.  But every once in awhile you have to really push yourself.  This is probably the last souffle I will be making for awhile.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious.  But man we used up nearly every utensil and bowl in the kitchen to prepare this dish.  And it took awhile to put it together.  If I were to make the dish again, I would probably mince the onion because I thought in some ways the chopped pieces of onion detracted a teensy bit from the light and fluffy souffle.  While the zucchini and cheese melted into the souffle, the onions didn't.  I might also consider adding a touch of fresh thyme because I think that zucchini and thyme pair very well together.  I thought that the flat-leaf parsley was a nice addition, but I think that a touch of thyme would be even nicer.

Recipe after the jump!

Zucchini Souffle

NY Times: The Minimalist

By Mark Bittman

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 to 3 medium zucchini, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 eggs, separated

8 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

1/4 cup parsley, chopped.

Butter four 1 1/2 -cup ramekins or one 6-cup soufflé dish. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when it’s hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until very tender, another 10 to 12 minutes. If you prefer, substitute a 10-ounce bag of spinach, chopped and cooked the same way. Drain the vegetables if there is excess liquid, and let cool.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and cheese with some salt and pepper. Add the vegetables and parsley and stir. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until they are light and fluffy and just hold soft peaks; stir about a third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites, trying not to deflate them much.

Pour the soufflé mixture into the ramekins or dish. Bake until golden and puffy, 30 to 35 minutes (if you use a 6-cup souffle dish like we did, you are going to want to bake it for a little longer - more like 40-45 minutes) and serve immediately.