Soufflé de Chicorée

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-quart (1-liter) straight-sided soufflé dish or timbale
• •10-inch (25 cm) wide skillet with a lid
• •Fine-mesh sieve with a sturdy spoon or flexible spatula
• •Large grease-free mixing bowl and balloon whisk or electric hand mixer
• •Rubber spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare oven and dish

   Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 400°F (200°C). Use about 1 teaspoon of the softened butter to coat the bottom and upright walls of a 1-quart (1-liter) straight-sided soufflé dish. Butter the rim as carefully as the base, because one dry patch can catch the rising mixture and pull the crown sideways.

2. 2

   Braise the chicory

   Melt the remaining butter in a wide covered skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced chicory, the water, and half the salt, then turn everything until the leaves gleam with butter. Cover and braise for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring twice, until the chicory yields beneath a spoon but retains some body. Uncover and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until no liquid remains on the pan floor. The aim is tender chicory, not waterlogged leaves.

3. 3

   Sieve and dry

   While the chicory is warm, rub it firmly through a fine-mesh sieve with a sturdy spoon or flexible spatula, scraping the smooth purée from the underside. Return the purée to the skillet and stir over medium-low heat until it gathers into a thick paste and a spatula drawn across the pan leaves a furrow that stays open for several seconds. If moisture beads around the purée or the furrow closes at once, keep drying it. Ça se rattrape. This is the dish's decisive step, because a wet base cannot carry the whites upward. Transfer the purée to a mixing bowl and cool it until merely lukewarm.

4. 4

   Enrich the base

   Beat the yolks into the lukewarm chicory one at a time, mixing each in completely before adding the next. Stir in the 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 ml / 57 g) Parmesan and the remaining salt. The base should be thick but pliable, holding a soft mound on the spatula. If it becomes loose after the yolks enter, set the bowl over barely warm water and stir until it regains body, taking care not to scramble the eggs.

5. 5

   Whisk and fold

   In a spotless, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they make stiff, glossy peaks whose tips stand upright. Stop before they turn dry or clumpy, since cottony whites resist folding and leave pale knots in the Soufflé. Stir one-quarter of the whites briskly into the chicory base to loosen it, then fold in the remainder in two additions with broad strokes from the bottom of the bowl. Turn the bowl as you fold and stop as soon as no large white streaks remain. A few fine streaks do less harm than ten unnecessary strokes.

6. 6

   Fill and bake

   Spoon the mixture into the buttered dish without knocking it against the counter. Level the surface lightly, sprinkle it evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 10 g) Parmesan, then run a clean thumb around the inside edge to free a narrow channel between the mixture and the rim. 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 dish, the Parmesan is butter-gold with bronzed ridges, and the center gives a small, resilient tremble rather than a liquid slosh.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Carry the Soufflé straight to the table in its dish and serve it with a broad spoon, reaching through the bronzed crown into the tender center. It will settle as it waits, because every hot Soufflé does. That is not failure, only timing. Never apologize at your own table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy tight, pale Belgian endive, often sold simply as chicory, with firm white ribs and yellow tips. Deep green leaves are more aggressively bitter and usually mean the heads have spent too long under bright light.
• •The sieve is not brigade ceremony. It removes the chicory's stubborn fibers while leaving a compact purée; a food processor chops those fibers into a wetter slurry and changes the texture the source intends.
• •For the source's individual garnish, divide the mixture among four well-buttered 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve one beside a large piece of roasted veal or ham, exactly as the classical entry proposes.
• •Separate the eggs while cold, when the yolks are less likely to break, then let them lose their chill before whisking. Even a trace of yolk or butter in the white bowl limits the foam.
• •A dry white with firm acidity suits the chicory's bitterness and the Parmesan's salt. Keep the rest of the plate restrained, especially if the Soufflé accompanies veal or ham.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicory can be braised, sieved, and dried up to one day ahead. Cover and chill it, then warm it gently and check that it still holds a furrow before adding the yolks.
• •Grate the Parmesan and butter the dish earlier in the day. Keep the prepared dish chilled, then let it stand at room temperature while the oven heats.
• •Once the whites are folded into the base, the Soufflé must go directly into the oven. The finished dish cannot be held without losing height, so have the rest of dinner ready first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)