Soufflé de Morue

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-quart (950 ml) straight-sided soufflé dish
• •Four 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins, held as the rescue option
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Small food processor or mortar and pestle
• •Large stainless-steel mixing bowl
• •Balloon whisk or electric hand mixer
• •Flexible spatula
• •Digital kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the morue

   Put the salt cod in a nonreactive bowl, cover it generously with cold water, and refrigerate for 24 hours, changing the water four times. Thick pieces may need another 6 to 12 hours. To test, cut off a small flake, simmer it in fresh water for 5 minutes, and taste it. It should remain pleasantly seasoned but not fiercely salty; if it still bites, return the cod to fresh cold water for another few hours.

   Keep the cod refrigerated throughout the soak. Warm soaking water encourages spoilage and does nothing useful for the texture.
2. 2

   Ready dish and oven

   Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 400°F (200°C), or 375°F (190°C) convection. Butter a 1-quart (950 ml) straight-sided soufflé dish generously, brushing the sides upward so the batter has a clean path to climb. Keep the rim free of butter and chill the prepared dish while you make the base.

3. 3

   Poach and weigh

   Put the soaked cod in a small saucepan and cover it with fresh cold water. Bring the water slowly to the barest tremble, then lower the heat and poach for 6 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness, until the flesh is opaque, flakes readily, and reaches 145°F (63°C) at its thickest point. Drain well, remove every scrap of skin and bone, and blot away surface water. Weigh exactly 4 ounces (113 g) of the freshly poached fish and flake it finely; this prepared weight is the source recipe's one-quarter pound, and keeping it exact preserves the balance of fish, sauce, and egg.

4. 4

   Cook thick Béchamel

   Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the smallest heavy saucepan you own. Stir in the flour and cook this roux, the butter-and-flour foundation, over medium-low heat for 90 seconds without letting it color. Whisk in the warm milk gradually, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the Béchamel is very thick and holds the track of the spoon. If it forms lumps, press it through a fine sieve while hot; if it remains loose, cook it another minute. This whiskable home batch makes slightly more than the source requires, so measure exactly 2 tablespoons (30 ml / about 35 g) while hot and reserve the remainder.

5. 5

   Pound the base

   Put the warm flaked morue in a small food processor and pulse until finely broken down. Add the 2 tablespoons of hot, very thick Béchamel little by little, processing and scraping the bowl between additions, until the mixture becomes a completely smooth, cohesive paste with no distinct flakes. Transfer it to a clean saucepan, add the white pepper, and heat gently while stirring until the paste is hot, pulls cleanly from the pan, and holds a deep furrow. Taste before considering salt; properly desalted morue usually supplies all it needs.

6. 6

   Add the yolks

   Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the base stand for 1 minute. Beat in 3 yolks, one at a time, working briskly and mixing each completely before adding the next. The base should stay warm and supple, never hot enough to scramble the yolks. If the first yolk makes tiny cooked flecks, scrape the mixture immediately into a cool bowl and beat hard; if flecks remain, pass the base through a medium-mesh sieve while it is still warm. Let it settle to about 105 to 115°F (40 to 46°C) before folding in the whites.

7. 7

   Whip and fold

   Beat all 4 whites in a spotless, dry bowl until they hold firm, glossy peaks whose tips barely curl. Whisk one-quarter of the whites firmly into the cod base to loosen it. Add the remainder in three portions, cutting down through the center with a flexible spatula, sweeping across the bottom, and turning the bowl after every fold. Stop as soon as no large pockets remain; a few fine white ribbons are safer than a perfectly uniform but flattened batter. If the mixture turns thin because it was overfolded, ça se rattrape: quickly butter four 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins, divide the batter among them, and bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Their shallower depth asks less of the weakened foam.

   Firm whites are glossy and flexible. Dry, grainy clumps have gone too far and cannot fold evenly into the fish base.
8. 8

   Bake and serve

   Spoon the batter into the chilled soufflé dish, filling it no more than three-quarters full. Smooth the top lightly, clean the rim, and run the tip of a knife in a shallow circle about ½ inch (1 cm) inside the edge to encourage an even crown. Bake immediately for 20 to 24 minutes without opening the oven during the first 18 minutes. It is ready when the crown stands above the rim, the ridges are deep butter-gold, the center quivers without sloshing, and the interior reaches 160°F (71°C). Carry it straight to the waiting table. A soufflé won't wait, but guests can. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Morue is salt cod, not fresh cod and not smoked fish. The source specifies Icelandic or Newfoundland cod; choose a firm, thick, pale slab without yellowed fat or ragged, cottony edges.
• •Weigh the fish after soaking, poaching, skinning, and boning. Use exactly 4 ounces (113 g), even if you prepared more. Extra cod keeps for a day in the refrigerator and belongs happily in an omelette.
• •A soufflé is dinner-party food only when the party understands the arrangement. Have the salad dressed, the plates warm, and everyone seated before you whip the whites.
• •Serve with a sharply dressed bitter-leaf salad and a dry, mineral white wine such as Muscadet. Add no decorative garnish to the crown; it has already done the work.
• •The small surplus of Béchamel is intentional. A microscopic quantity scorches before it can be whisked smooth in an ordinary saucepan, while this batch remains manageable and still lets you use the source's exact two tablespoons.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin desalting the morue at least 24 hours before dinner, changing the water four times. Very thick slabs may need up to 36 hours.
• •The cod can be poached, cleaned, weighed, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Bring it toward room temperature before pounding it with the hot Béchamel.
• •The smooth cod-and-Béchamel paste can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and chilled. Rewarm it gently until it holds a furrow, then add the yolks and whipped whites as directed.
• •Butter the soufflé dish up to 4 hours ahead and keep it chilled. Never whip or fold the whites in advance; once they enter the base, the soufflé goes directly into the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)