Zucchini & Emmenthal Soufflé

This is my adaptation of the Souffle au Fromage from the Larousse de la Cuisine. It is gorgeous but I recommend trying it out before serving it to guests as the temperature may need adjusting for your oven.

• 2 small zucchinis (or one medium)
• 150 g emmental
• 40 g butter
• 40 g flour
• 40 cl milk
• 4 eggs
• nutmeg, salt, pepper

Grate the cheese, using the fine part of the grater. Set aside.

Grate the zucchini, also using the fine part of the grater. Sauté the grated zucchini to eliminate the water. Set aside.

Melt 40 g of butter in a pan. Add the flour and stir to make a smooth paste. Add the milk, little by little, stirring constantly. Cook this for 6 - 7 minutes until it thickens. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Mix in the cheese and the sautéd zuccini into the béchamel, and remove from heat.
Butter a soufflé mold (22 cm diameter) and preheat your oven to 200° celcius.

Separate the yokes from the whites of the 4 eggs. Add the yokes into the béchamel, cheese and zucchini mixture when it is cool.

Whip the egg whites until very stiff, adding a pinch of salt. Gently mix this into the béchamel mixture, taking care to not stir too hard so that you maintain a maximum of airiness and fluffiness.

Pour the batter into the buttered mold, but no higher than 3/4 full (you can use individual ramequins for any left over and bake them when the main soufflé is done - baking time for individual portions is about 15 - 20 minutes).

Put into the oven at mid height. Bake for 30 minutes. DO NOT open the oven door while the soufflé is baking.

Serve immediately after removing from the oven. As the Larousse warns, "a soufflé never waits".

(serves 4)

Further handy hints:

• the Larousse recommends using porcelain molds rather than glass. They say that the porcelaine heats faster.
  
• If you are making a "plain" cheese souffé, you may want to use a stronger cheese. Gruyère, fribourg, appenzell, comté or beaufort will all do nicely. Alternatively you may want to try using a blue, such as a roquefort. Use less salt if using any of the above.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I saw this item on a menu recently, and nearly ordered it but was side-tracked by someone at the next table getting corned beef hash with a poached egg on top. The egg was good, but in my opinion, the best corned beef hash comes out of a can. But I digress.
This is the roasted cauliflower soup I made tonight and it is very good. An immersion blender makes it a reasonable recipe. Ladling piping hot soup into a standard type blender a little at a time and spraying the room and myself with it is not my idea of prudent culinary practice. Many recipe writers, at least quite a few I have followed, think this is a good idea, but not me. I go with the immersion blender, being careful to keep it submerged. That said, here's what I did:

Cut a head of cauliflower into florets. Put them into a large bowl and add three cloves pressed garlic, an onion sliced into wedges, and a gurble of olive oil. Toss these together, and pour them onto a cookie sheet with raised sides. Sprinkle on some salt.
Roast the vegetables at 400 for about half an hour, or until you're afraid they might burn if left longer.
Then, put them into a soup kettle with about 6 cups of hot chicken broth, a bay leaf, and some fresh or dried thyme. Simmer 30 minutes until all is soft.
Now turn off the heat, and get the immersion blender working. Make it all very smooth.
Then pour in one cup of cream, stir gently. Taste for salt, and add coarse black pepper.
I served this in shallow bowls with a slice of avocado which was completely gratuitous.
My this soup is good.
But my timing is so off! Today is the first day of Spring, and only now I'm getting inspired about creamy soups. I should be steaming asparagus and spit-roasting lamb, right?

Phyllys Burr's Crab Dip

1/2 lb. fresh crab, flaked
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup finely diced celery
4-6 green onions, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1 envelope Knox gelatin
3 T. hot water

Over medium low heat, blend soup and cheese until smooth. Take off heat. Dissolve gelatin in hot water and pour into the soup cheese mixture. Add remaining ingredients, stir and pour into a mold. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. A little oil or Pam in the mold will help it release. Serve with Ritz Crackers.

Burr Family Salsa

Really good with corn chips and beer, or on tostadas.

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium chopped white onion
1 bunch chopped cilantro
1 small bottle Salsa Brava (Rosarita brand, if you can find it.)
1 T. vinegar
2 T. olive oil

Luis' Green Salsa

This salsa is amazingly captivating, especially on black beans and rice.

15 Serrano chiles, seeded (wear gloves)
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch green onion
1 medium white onion

Chop the above all together until very fine. Put into a bowl and add:

2 T. lime juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Elderflower and Lime Cheesecake

Oxfam Chocolate Recipes Calendar 2006

3/4 large package of digestive biscuits/graham crackers (I use a mix of digestives and ginger snaps)
90 g (3 oz) butter
60 g (2 oz) sugar (I use demarerra or light brown)
360 g (12 oz) full fat cream cheese
160 ml (6 fl oz) double cream, lightly whipped
icing/powdered sugar (to taste)
1 lime (zest and juice)
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
50 g (2 oz) dark chocolate
fresh strawberries (or other berries) to decorate

Crush the digestive biscuits.
Melt butter and add crushed biscuits and sugar.
Press the mixture firmly into a 20 cm (8 in) round tin with a lift-up base.

Place cream cheese, icing sugar, zest and juice of lime in a food processor and mix. Slowly add cream and elderflower cordial.

Spread mixture on to biscuit base.

Refrigerate until required. Remove carefully from tin.

Melt chocolate and drizzle over the cheesecake. Decorate with berries.

Rani's Pavlova

pavlova (8 persons)

I tried this when Rani made it for her daughter's 21st birthday. It was wonderful.

- 6 egg whites at room temperature
- a pinch of salt
- 2 cups/360 g caster super fine sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour (i never use that as i never have any!)
- 1 tsp of vinegar (sometimes i forget to put it in and it doesn't seem to make any difference)
- 240 ml double cream
- passion fruit, or strawberries or raspberries, blue berries, whatever fruit selection you have and want for the decoration.

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Lightly grease a baking tray and line it with baking parchment/waxed paper.
draw a 8 1/2 inch (22cm) circle on the paper. (i just make the circle whilst pouring eggs whites on paper).

Put the egg whites in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk until stiff. Start whisking in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, and whisking well after each addition.
Continue whisking until the egg whites are stiff and glossy, they should be stiff enough for you to hold the bowl over your head without the meringue falling out.
Last of all, whisk in the cornflour and vinegar. I add some vanilla essence here, 1 tsp, especially if i put the vinegar in.

Mound the meringue on to the paper lined tray and bake for 5 mins and then turn the oven down to 130C/250F/Gas1 and cook for 1 hour and a quarter until crunchy-crusted but still marsh mellow centered.

Cool before lifting off baking parchment.

Whip cream, add a tiny sugar to it, and then decorate inner circle of pavlova with cream and fruit and you can dust it with icing sugar too.