Soufflé de Topinambours

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-quart (1.4-liter) straight-sided porcelain soufflé dish
• •Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Food mill or potato ricer
• •Large balloon whisk or electric hand mixer
• •Wide flexible spatula
• •Rimmed baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat and butter

   Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F (190°C), with a rimmed baking sheet inside. Brush a 1½-quart (1.4-liter) straight-sided porcelain soufflé dish generously with the softened butter, working upward from base to rim. Coat the inner rim as well, then keep the dish cool while you make the base. Use butter alone, with no crumbs or cheese; that is what the source calls for.

   Upward butter strokes encourage a clean climb, while a thoroughly coated rim keeps the expanding mixture from catching.
2. 2

   Cook the roots

   Put the topinambours in a saucepan and cover them with cold water by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt, bring to a gentle boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. They are ready when a small knife passes through the thickest piece without resistance. Drain them in a colander for 2 minutes, shaking away every visible drop.

3. 3

   Dry the purée

   Return the drained topinambours to the dry saucepan and set them over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring and shaking until the pan floor stays dry. Pass them through a food mill or ricer while hot. Warm the cream, then stir it into the purée a little at a time until smooth, holding some back if the roots need less. Measure 2 cups (1 pint / 475 ml / about 500 g) of the finished purée. This is the cream-enriched base carried over from Soufflé de Pommes de Terre (No. 2250), with topinambours replacing potato. Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) salt. If liquid gathers around the spoon, return the purée to low heat and stir until it holds a soft mound. Ça se rattrape. If it becomes stiff enough to crack, loosen it with a spoonful of the reserved warm cream.

   A blender makes the purée slick and can hide excess water. A food mill or ricer leaves it light enough to receive the whites.
4. 4

   Add the yolks

   Let the purée cool until warm rather than hot, about 105°F (40°C). Stir in the yolks one at a time, mixing each completely before adding the next. The base should be smooth, thick, and spoonable. If the first yolk forms yellow threads, the purée was too hot; press the mixture through a fine sieve at once, let it cool slightly, and continue with the remaining yolks.

5. 5

   Whip the whites

   Put the whites in a perfectly clean, dry bowl. Beat at medium speed until foamy, then increase the speed and continue until they hold glossy, stiff peaks whose tips barely bend. Stop there. Dry, cottony whites have been beaten too far and resist a clean fold; the lift comes from their supple network of air, not from making them rigid.

6. 6

   Fold with restraint

   Whisk one-quarter of the whites into the topinambour base to lighten it. Add half the remaining whites and fold with a wide spatula, cutting down through the center, sweeping across the bottom, and lifting the mixture over itself while turning the bowl. Repeat with the last whites. Stop as soon as no large white clouds remain; a few fine streaks are safer than another six turns. Fold with a light hand. Beaten out, the whites give nothing. Spoon the mixture into the buttered dish, smooth the top lightly, and run a clean thumb around the inner rim to free the edge.

7. 7

   Bake and serve

   Set the dish on the hot baking sheet and bake for 27 to 32 minutes without opening the oven during the first 22 minutes. The soufflé is ready when its crown is deep butter-gold, it has risen about 1½ inches (4 cm) above the rim, and the center trembles but does not slosh when the dish is nudged. If the center still moves like liquid, close the door and give it another 3 minutes. Carry it directly to the table and serve with a broad spoon. A soufflé begins to settle because it is alive with air, not because you failed it. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy about 1¾ pounds (800 g) of whole topinambours to allow for their knobs and peel. Choose roots that feel firm and dense, without soft patches; tired ones carry still more water into the purée.
• •The purée is dry enough when a spoon dragged across the saucepan leaves a path that does not immediately fill. This drying is the indispensable adjustment from potato to topinambour.
• •Arrange the rest of dinner before the whites are folded. The filled dish should go straight into the oven, and the baked soufflé waits for nobody, however charming the guests.
• •Serve it beside roast poultry, veal, or a plainly cooked beef fillet. A dry white Burgundy has enough body for the cream and enough freshness for the topinambour's earthy sweetness.

Advance Preparation

• •The topinambour purée can be cooked, dried, enriched with cream, and chilled up to 1 day ahead. Press parchment or reusable wrap directly against its surface, then rewarm it gently to about 105°F (40°C) before adding the yolks. Correct the consistency with a spoonful of cream or a minute over low heat.
• •The soufflé dish can be buttered up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it out while the purée warms.
• •Do not whip or fold the whites ahead. Once folded, bake within 5 minutes and serve as soon as it leaves the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)