66 Easy Pressure Cooker Recipes For Beginners

Sweet Potato Souffle

Sally Waltz likes to cook sweet potatoes because they were grown by native Americans before the first settlers arrived from Europe.

When she bakes this souffle on the hearth, she places its casserole dish inside a footed, cast-iron Dutch oven, with some coals shoveled underneath the Dutch oven and more placed on top of the recessed lid. She changes the position of the Dutch oven during baking to promote even cooking.

The souffle can be assembled and refrigerated (unbaked) the night before you bake it. Because it takes 30 to 45 minutes, Waltz usually bakes this while the roasted turkey is resting.

Adapted by Smithsburg, Md., Sally Waltz, from a hearth cooking class held at the 1840 House in Baltimore, which is now a bed-and-breakfast.

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Lucie's Sweet Potato Souffle

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a souffle dish or casserole. Have ready a larger baking pan at least 2 1/2 inches deep in which to place the souffle dish or casserole.

Step 2

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisking or stirring constantly with a fork, slowly sprinkle the flour over the butter, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 or 3 minutes or until blended and bubbly. Remove the pan from the heat. Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk in a steady stream and stir until completely incorporated. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Add the nutmeg and stir to combine. Remove from the heat; set aside to cool.

Step 3

Meanwhile, in large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Step 4

In a small bowl, using an electric mixer and clean beaters, beat the egg yolks until very thick. Add some of the milk mixture to the yolks and stir to combine. Add the yolk mixture to the milk mixture in the pan and beat just until combined. Add the sweet potatoes and mix until combined.

Step 5

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Gradually and gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter just until they are incorporated and no streaks remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared dish. Place the dish in the larger baking pan, place both on the oven rack and then pour enough hot water into the larger pan to reach a depth of about 2 inches.

Step 6

Bake the souffle for 50 to 60 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Step 7

Serve immediately.

How Should I Serve A Soufflé?

A souffle is a delightfully versatile recipe and can turn up at lunch or supper, as a starter, a main dish or as that old fashioned end to the meal called a savoury.

I wish they had a less scary reputation because soufflés are cheap and easy to make and satisfying without being filling; I should make them more often.

You have probably heard the one about being careful not to slam the oven door, but I find the most essential trick of all is to make certain that everyone is ready to eat before you take it out of the oven, not just because it won¹t stay up for long but because it is bound to be a success and there will be no one there to see it.

They probably won¹t believe you when you say how high it was when it first came out of the oven!

I tend to eat a soufflé as a light supper. Depending on the weather I will either have it with green salad to follow, or, if it is a bit nippy, or I am especially hungry, then with some sausages.

A soufflé can make a gentle starter to a formal meal, but the logistics are not easy unless you have a  main course you are cooking on the hob or grill. One of the most famous dishes of all time is the spinach souffle they serve at Langan¹s Restaurant in Stratton Street London W1.

I have eaten it there many times and it comes with a little jug of anchovy sauce. You break the crust then stir in the anchovy sauce. A lovely mouthful that.

If you are going to make a spinach version and want to eat it as a main dish then how about serving something with it that classically goes with spinach, like bacon or ham.

A pretty near perfect meal would be some boiled bacon (which you do on the hob, leaving the oven free) with the creamy spinach soufflé on the side.

And remember, it is fails to rise then you just call it spinach bake and no one need ever know.

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