Recipe: Beet Soufflé

by John Ryan

Beet Soufflé

All right, I know that only one out of maybe 20,000 readers is going to try this, but I offer it to my fellow beet lovers out there. Something I love about this soufflé is that the beets naturally create the most unnatural shade of red, making this one of the coolest looking souffles around.

You'll need a deep casserole or soufflé dish—one that hold 6 cups.

4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup grated cooked beet

For the soufflé dish...
Butter
Approximately 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1. First, turn your oven on the 375 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Let it cook over low hear for a minute or two. Then stir the milk in gradually. When all the milk is added, bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat so it barely simmers and let it burble for 7 or 8 minutes. Meanwhile, (a) smear the inside of your souffle dish lightly with butter and put a quarter cup or so of breadcrumbs into the dish. Roll the crumbs around and shake out any that don't stick to the butter. Then (b) separate the eggs—whites go into a clean mixing bowl, yolks into a small bowl.

3. Take the sauce off the heat and season with salt pepper and nutmeg. Then stir in about 2/3 of the Swiss cheese. When the cheese has melted, stir in the beets. Then stir in the yolks.

4. Whip the whites until they are stiff and creamy, then fold them in 3 or 4 stages into the sauce. Pour the mixture into you souffle dish and bake for about 35 minutes—it's done when the top is golden brown and a skewer poked into the center comes out clean.