Soufflé de Maïs à la Crème

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-quart (1.4-liter) straight-sided ceramic soufflé dish, about 7 inches (18 cm) wide
• •Steamer basket and covered saucepan
• •Food processor or food mill
• •Large sturdy fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Wide saucepan
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Rimmed baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare oven and mould

   Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 400°F (200°C), or 375°F (190°C) with a fan. Put a rimmed baking sheet inside to heat. Brush the bottom and straight sides of a 1½-quart (1.4-liter) soufflé dish generously with 1 tablespoon of the butter, carrying each stroke upward so the batter has a clean path to rise. Chill the buttered dish while you make the base.

2. 2

   Cook and sieve maize

   Steam the maize over simmering water until completely tender, about 8 minutes for fresh kernels or 6 minutes for frozen. While it is still warm, process it to a thick purée, then press it firmly through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper. Scrape the smooth purée from the underside and weigh exactly 1 pound (454 g). If you are short, sieve more maize rather than compensating with cream; the cream adjusts softness, but it cannot replace the body of the maize.

3. 3

   Dry the purée

   Put the measured purée into a wide saucepan with the remaining tablespoon of butter and the salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring and turning constantly, until the butter disappears into the maize and the purée becomes a dense paste that leaves a clean, dry track behind the spatula, about 6 to 10 minutes. This drying is the dish. If the purée begins to catch or color, take it off the heat immediately and transfer the clean upper portion to another pan, leaving the stuck layer behind. Ça se rattrape. Dry it thoroughly, but never brown it.

   A properly dried purée gathers around the spatula instead of flowing back across the pan. Water left in the maize weighs down the whites and gives a close, damp soufflé.
4. 4

   Loosen and bind

   Lower the heat and work in ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g) of the cream in three additions. Add only enough of the remaining cream to make a somewhat soft paste that falls heavily from the spoon but never pours. If it becomes loose, keep stirring over gentle heat before adding the yolks until the spatula once again leaves a track. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes, then beat in 3 yolks one at a time. The base should be warm, not fierce enough to scramble them. If a few yolk flecks appear, press the base through the clean sieve once more while it is still warm.

5. 5

   Whip the whites

   Put all 4 whites into a spotless, grease-free bowl and beat them until they form a stiff, glossy froth. The peaks should stand when the whisk lifts, but the whites must remain smooth rather than dry and cottony. If they begin to look grainy, whisk in 1 teaspoon of the reserved cream just until they come together again, then stop.

6. 6

   Fold and fill

   Stir one quarter of the whites firmly into the maize base to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whites in two additions, cutting down through the center with a broad spatula, sweeping along the bottom, and turning the mixture over itself as you rotate the bowl. Stop when no broad white streaks remain; a few fine wisps do less harm than another minute of folding. Scrape the mixture into the chilled mould, smooth the top lightly, and run a clean thumb around the inner rim to free the edge. Bake at once.

7. 7

   Bake and serve

   Set the dish on the heated baking sheet and bake without opening the oven for the first 22 minutes. At 27 to 32 minutes, the soufflé should stand well above the rim with a deep butter-gold crown, while the center retains a slight quiver and reaches at least 160°F (71°C). If the center still moves like liquid, close the door and give it another 3 to 5 minutes; it will recover much of its lift. Bring it straight to the table beside poached fowl and serve within 2 minutes. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh sweet corn when the kernels are plump and milky. Outside its season, frozen corn is the honest answer because it was preserved at its peak; thawed corn from a tired cob has no virtue merely because the cob is fresh.
• •The fine sieve is not decoration. A food processor breaks down the kernels, but only the sieve removes enough skin to give the soufflé its delicate crumb. Process first for speed, then sieve for character.
• •Choose a straight-sided 1½-quart (1.4-liter) dish rather than a broad gratin. The narrow walls support a tall rise, while a wide vessel produces a shallower result that cooks several minutes sooner.
• •Serve the soufflé alongside sliced poached chicken, capon, or turkey, never buried under sauce. Its tender crumb should meet the fowl at the fork. A dry white Burgundy has enough roundness for the cream without hiding the maize.
• •A fallen leftover is still good food, only no longer a soufflé in full flight. Chill it promptly, then reheat covered at 325°F (165°C) until set and warm; expect a tender maize pudding rather than a second rise.

Advance Preparation

• •The maize may be cooked, sieved, weighed, and dried with the butter up to one day ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate; rewarm it gently before loosening with cream and adding the yolks.
• •The soufflé dish can be buttered several hours ahead and held in the refrigerator. Cold butter stays firmly on the walls and helps the batter climb cleanly.
• •Once the whites are folded in, the mixture cannot wait. Have the poached fowl carved, the plates ready, and the table settled before the soufflé enters the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 175g)