A nice tasting savory souffle presented two ways!
Queso Manchego originated in La Mancha Spain. It is a sheep milk cheese that has a nice mellow sharp flavor that goes well with spinach. In La Mancha, only a certain type of local sheep is used to make manchego cheese. Queso Manchego is popular in Mexico too. The quality of Mexican Manchego cheese can vary from commercial quality to an aged nicely crafted fine quality. The commercial style Mexican manchego cheese does have the characteristics and flavor of good manchego cheese, but it is rarely aged as long as Spanish manchego. Commercial Mexican manchego is meant to be used for cooking and melting. Fine top quality Mexican and Spanish queso aged manchego should be served on its own or on a cheese platter. When making a spinach souffle, two different paths can be taken. One is to make a very smooth refined strained bechamel puree of spinach. The other method is to puree the bechamel and spinach, but not strain it, so the vegetable roughage is retained. I chose to retain the spinach roughage in this souffle, because it was meant to be my lunch on the day I made it! I wanted a souffle with a heartier, healthier texture for lunch. Lunch souffles do not need to be quite as refined as dinner hour souffles. If you ever had a spinach souffle that looked like the spinach was discolored or brown, then the spinach was not prepared properly for the souffle. The same technique that is used to prepare green herbs for emulsion oils is used to prepare spinach for a souffle. A method of quickly blanching the leafy herbs or spinach and then shocking the greens in ice water will retain the bright green color of the leafy greens. The spinach souffle in the photos above is a natural green color that is a result of using the quick blanching and shocking method. No green food color was used at all! If you notice, even after baking for 20 minutes, the spinach still has a bright green color! The word souffle basically means puff. A souffle can be made to puff a little bit or a lot. A souffle can be made to have a dense texture or a light texture. A souffle can be made to be moist or dry and airy. As a rule, baking time and temperature remains nearly the same for all souffle styles. It is up to the chef to decide on what characteristics the souffle should have to best suit the ingredients of the souffle. I have posted souffle recipes where the consistency of the base sauce was thin or medium thin. The consistency of the base sauce or puree does make a difference in the texture of a souffle. I have also written souffle recipes that call for one, two or three egg whites. The amount of egg white determines how high the souffle will rise and it is a major factor for the texture of a souffle. As a rule, heavier souffle batters will not rise as high as light airy batters. A parchment paper collar is only necessary if you fill a souffle ramekin to the rim or if the souffle is expected to rise past the rim. A high rising souffle that has no collar will flower. Many chefs and food critics do not like souffles that have flowered and they refer to them as amateur. I went ahead and made a few souffles in this blog with no collars and I allowed the souffle to flower. A souffle that has flowered is a pretty sight to see! My shrimp bisque souffle flowered and it looks nice, especially when you consider that modern presentations of fine food have thrown many of the old presentation rules right out the window. I have demonstrated how to apply a collar on a souffle in this food blog, but I have not made a souffle that has really needed a collar. The reason is, I used large souffle ramekin and I only fill the ramekin till it is half full or three quarters full of souffle batter. That negates the need for a collar for most one and two egg white souffles. The combination of the batter ingredients for the souffles in the photos above was a medium thin batter. A coarse medium consistency puree and 2 egg whites whisked to medium stiff peaks created the consistency of the batter. The batter filled each mold just a little less than three quarters full. The souffle therefore only was designed to rise enough to fill the ramekin or souffle mold after it finished baking. That is how most savory lunch souffles are designed to be.
Queso Manchego Bechamel: The plain bechamel is made with no onion pique. Heat a sauce pot over medium/medium low heat. Add 5 pats of unsalted butter. Add an equal amount of flour, while constantly stirring, to form a roux. Stir till the roux cooks to a white color, with very little hazelnut aroma. Add 1 cup of milk while whisking. Add 1/2 cup of cream. Stir as the sauce heats and thickens to a very thin sauce consistency. Reduce the temperature to low heat. Gently simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin sauce consistency. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 tiny pinch of nutmeg. Add 3 ounces of grated manchego cheese while stirring. Stir till the cheese melts into the sauce. Remove the pot from the heat. Allow the sauce to cool to just above room temperature. Keep the sauce warm on a stove top.
Spinach: Boil 2 quarts of salted water in a pot over high heat. Place 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves in a strainer net. Briefly dip the spinach in the boiling water 2 to 3 times, till the spinach leaves barely wilt. Immediately place the strainer net and wilted spinach in a container of ice water. Cool the spinach quickly. Drain the water off of the spinach. Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach by hand. Coarsely chop the spinach and set it aside.
Spinach Bechamel Puree: Add the chopped spinach to the bechamel sauce. Use a pureeing wand or a food processor to puree the spinach bechamel to a smooth texture. There is no need to rube the puree through a fine mesh strainer when making a simple lunch souffle! Spinach Souffle:
This recipe makes 1 souffle portion plus 1 petite souffle! Lightly brush a 4" wide souffle ramekin mold and a fancy shape petite silicone baking mold with melted unsalted butter. Very lightly dust the buttered molds with flour. Separate 2 egg and place the egg whites and yolks into separate mixing bowls. Place the spinach bechamel puree into a mixing bowl. Add 1 of the egg yolks to the spinach puree, while whisking. (Save the other egg yolk for another recipe.) Set the souffle base aside. Whisk the 2 egg whites in the other mixing bowl, till medium stiff peaks appear. Gently fold the egg white meringue into the souffle base, one third at a time, so the mixture is barely combined. Place the souffle mixture into the prepared souffle ramekin and the petite silicone mold. (Only fill the molds till they are 3/4 full. Place the souffle molds in a roasting pan. Bake undisturbed in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. The roasted red bell pepper cumin beurre blanc can be made while the souffles bake!
Roasted Red Pepper Cumin Beurre Blanc: Place 1/4 teaspoon in a dry sauce pot. Place the pot over medium heat. Shake the pan constantly and dry roast the cumin for 30 seconds, till it becomes aromatic. Add 3/4 cup of dry white wine. Add 1/2 of a chopped shallot. Add sea salt and 5 whole black peppercorns. Simmer and reduce the wine till only 3 tablespoons remain. Pour the the wine through a fine mesh strainer into a second sauce pot. Place the sauce pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of finely diced roasted red bell pepper. Simmer and reduce the liquid till only 1 1/2 tablespoons remain. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 1 butter pat at a time, while constantly whisking, till a creamy looking butter sauce emulsion is formed. A total of 3 ounces of butter pats is needed for this recipe. Place the Roasted Red Pepper Cumin Beurre Blanc in a ceramic cup and keep it warm on a stove top. Stir the beurre blanc occasionally.
Spinach and Manchego Cheese Souffle with Roasted Red Pepper Cumin Beurre Blanc: Gently remove the souffles from the oven. Place the souffle in the ramekin on a serving platter. Spoon the roasted red pepper cumin beurre blanc into the souffle shortly after it is served. For the souffle in the silicon mold, place a dry towel or oven mitt over one hand. Invert the mold and souffle onto the covered hand and remove the mold. Place an upside down plate over the souffle in hand and invert the two together as one, so the souffle sits on the plate right side up! Spoon the roasted red pepper cumin beurre blanc over the edge of the souffle and onto the plate. Garnish with a parsley sprig.
Viola! Two ways to serve the same souffle. This spinach manchego cheese souffle has a nice flavor and the roasted red pepper cumin beurre blanc is a nice choice for an accompanying sauce. "I second that emulsion!" Ha! Ha! Ha! Yum! ... Shawna
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