Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Red Pepper Cornmeal Souffle

1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 cups milk
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fiesta cheese blend
1 T. dry parsely
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 egg yolks, beaten
7 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tater

In a large saucepan, saute the onion and red pepper in butter until tender. Add the milk. Bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal ( make sure you add the cornmeal slowly not all at once or else it will get clumppy); whisk constantly until thickened , about 5 minutes. Add the cheese, parsely, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of the cornmeal mixture to the egg yolks; mix well. Return all to the saucepan. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tater and remaining salt until stiff peaks form. Fold into cornmeal mixture. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. souffle dish. Bake at 375 F. for 35-40minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8-10 servings.


STIRRING UP SUCCESSFUL SOUFFLE BATTERS
Properly preparing the batter is one of the keys to creating a stndout souffle. Follow these tips for a distinctive dish guests are sure to fall for!
  • When separating eggs, make sure no yoks get into the egg whites, or they won't beat properly.
  • Let egg whites stand at room temerature for 30 minutes before beating. They will expand more than cold egg whites and will give better volume.
  • Be sure that the beaters and bowl are clean and dry before they touch the whites.
  • When beaten, the whites should be just firm enough to form and hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted
  • When adding the egg whites to the yolk base, fist fold in a third of the egg whites until blended. Then fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, you can serve at dinner or breakfast it is amazingly good!

Esther