Green Bean Souffle

I've always thought of the soufflé as this really scary concoction that requires ultimate precision otherwise it comes out a mess. I haven't changed my mind.  However, now that I have tackled the ominous first soufflé, the idea of doing it again does not necessarily make me quake in my booties.  Check back with me when I decide I've lost my mind enough to try a dessert soufflé and we'll see if I've maintained a façade of cool.

It's really the whole idea of folding in ingredients.  And the egg whites.  Yea, definitely the folding and the egg whites.

I did manage to get the egg whites nice and stiff..... so stiff that the egg white was this giant fluffy puffy ball inside of the whisk attachment to my Kitchen Aid. 

Then the whole folding thing needed to take place.  The entire time I'm very slowly and very carefully placing my wooden spoon in the bowl at the end farthest from me and sliding it down to the bottom, bringing the spoon along the bottom over to me, and then slowly back up again and over the top of the mixture, thinking to myself that this is insanity.  I'm looking around at an empty apartment desperately trying to use the powers of my mind to make someone else magically appear so I have can ask, "is this right?". There are just globs of egg white and cream sauce mixture semi sort of floating together in this bowl.  Folding is madness.  All I wanted to do was take my spoon and whip it together with all the power my muscle-lacking arms could muster. But no, its a friggin soufflé, which means I have to carefully fold so as not to lose air.  Losing air means no rise when it cooks.  No rise means that I don't know what I've cooked but I do know it isn't a soufflé.  Not having a soufflé at the end of this madness would defeat the purpose of my making a green bean soufflé.  Stupid green bean soufflé.

But I did it and I even got a little rise.  I know I got a rise out of my soufflé because there was obvious sinkage an hour later.  I'll count it as a win and one more challenge tackled.

Green Bean Soufflé

Soufflé di Fagiolini

Ingredients:

1 box frozen cut string beans

5 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 c. whole milk

3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese - grated

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg yolk

2 egg whites  - beat stiff with 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Fill a sauce pot with two quarts water and 1 Tbsp salt.  Bring to a boil then add string beans.  Cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

In a small sauce pot, melt half of the butter then add flour.  Mix into a paste then add the milk.  Put heat on low and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stir constantly.  Sauce should thicken to the consistency of cream.  Stir in salt.

Remove from heat and rapidly stir in egg yolk and cheese. Set aside.

Drain the green beans.  Melt the rest of the butter in a sauté pan then add the green beans.  Sauté for approximately three minutes.  Put the beans through a sieve then mix with the cream sauce.

Fold in the egg whites.

Place mixture in a buttered baking dish.  Even the top with the back of your spoon.

Currently not looking very appealing...man I hope this works.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 30 to 35 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Heartache from the stress of baking this dish aside, it tasted pretty great.  It had a light creamy texture with a weird bit of sweetness to it.  This recipe is a keeper...I just need to practice my folding technique.