The Roquefort Files

 

Behold, dear readers, Chez Venza has emerged from hibernation.  And where, might you ask, have we been hibernating?  Mayhap in the Combalou caves of Southern France, the only place where roquefort cheese is made by aging a sheep’s milk cheese until it develops mold. Ewwwwwwes……….  produce the milk.

But what to do with this beautiful blue cheese?  Soufflé!  This is a recipe we've been dying to try for a while.  When we saw it on TV, we basically didn’t know soufflés could be anything other than dessert.  And yet, here was a soufflé being served as a main course?  We were all like “whaaaaaaa…..”.

As some of you may recall, this is not Chez Venza’s first souffle rodeo (wouldn’t that be fun?)  The steps are nearly identical, just with different fillings.

Whipped egg whites are the key to the fluffiness of the soufflé, whereas the yolks, in a savory cheese soufflé are used in making the rich, cheesy béchamel that will get folded into the fluffed white.  Five eggs, separated …minus one yolk.

Prepare one soufflé dish by greasing it with butter and then sticking some good parmesan to the butter.

The béchamel starts by cooking a small amount of flour in butter, and then….

After adding some scalded milk, we begin adding the yolks…

…More parmesan…

…and the star of the show, the Roquefort! (along with a little nutmeg, salt and pepper). 

 

MEANWHILE, our friends the egg whites along with some cream of tartar (which is a by product of winemaking, who knew?) are added to a mixer and whisked until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Then, in fourths:  the first quarter of the whites are straight up stirred into the cheese-sauce.  Then the remaining quarters are delicately folded in, to keep as much air in the whites as as possible.

What a crock!

Preheat your oven to 400, but then drop it to 375 as soon as you put the soufflé in.  Who knows why!

This part seems silly, but it works.  You need to draw a circle in the top of the goo before you bake it, to help the soufflé rise evenly.

Voila!  Tall and brown, but also a bit jiggly.  You can see the circle we drew!  A soufflé is never prettier than right after it comes out of the oven.  Be sure to take it to the table and show it off before immediately serving it.

See, not as pretty…but you get to eat it now!  Not pictured but also delightful, serving this Roquefort soufflé with a little bit o’ honey and figs (or fig preserves).