Smoked Whitefish Souffle

Souffles have a terrifying reputation. Look at them sideways and they collapse. If your next-door neighbor slams their door while they are baking and they collapse. And so on. I have found soufflés to be fairly stable despite their high-maintenance notoriety. This soufflé will hold fine in the fridge if made the night before. Yes try to avoid dropping it on the counter or moving it too vigorously but remember that you’re just trying to protect those bubbles.

Adding to the finicky reputation is the step of adding a bit of the whisked egg white mixture to the base and then gently folding in the rest. The point of this step is to prepare the dense soufflé base with the light and airy egg whites. The fist glob of whites mixed in thoroughly lightens the base and makes it easier to fold in the rest of the whites without breaking their bubbles. When mixing in all the whites you’ll know to stop when there are no more pockets of plain white. The soufflé won’t be a disaster if not folded fully in, but those pockets of whites won’t taste as delicious as the sum of the all the parts.

  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 6 T butter
  • 1 tsp chopped thyme
  • 8 oz smoked whitefish, picked
  • 6 T flour
  • 2 C milk
  • 8 eggs, separated
  • ¼ C chopped parsley
  • ½ C grated raclette or parmesan
  1. Heat oven to 375
  2. Butter and flour a 2qt soufflé dish being sure to knock out the excess flour
  3. In a medium sauce pan, sweat the onions and thyme in the butter with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until soft but not browned
  4. Add the whitefish, stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes
  5. Add the flour and cook until the flour smells toasty
  6. Stirring constantly, add the milk and cook until the mixture starts to bubble and is thick
  7. Remove the pan from the heat
  8. Combine the egg yolks, herbs and cheese
  9. Add the yolk mixture to the milk mixture whisking to combine
  10. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff
  11. Add a big spoonful to the soufflé base to combine, then add the rest.
  12. Pour soufflé into the prepared dish, reduce temperature to 350F and bake until golden and puffy (about 50 minutes)
  13. Serve immediately with an acidic green salad
Posted 7/21/2015