Pimento Cheese Souffle

This dish smells so wonderful and deflates so fast once you get it out of the oven. Don’t worry. It is supposed to do that.

Souffles can be very fussy. And take a lot of patience. And … well, if I’m going to mess around with one, why not make it a really good one. The original pimento cheese recipe gets a makeover for a light, delicious dish that does not seem pretentious at all.

METHOD

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter up the souffle dish or 6 to 8 individual souffle dishes.

2.       Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour for about 2 minutes. Add milk and continue to whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low, whisking until the mixture thickens.

3.       Remove pan from heat and whisk in cheddar a little at a time. After incorporating it into the mixture, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, pimento, sour cream, chives, mustard, chives, paprika, and cayenne. Whisk until smooth, then stir in the 6 egg yolks until fully incorporated. Set aside.

4.       Using an electric mixer, beat the 7 egg whites with a pinch of kosher salt until they achieve firm, glossy peaks. Fold one quarter of the egg whites into the cheese mixture. Be sure to fold – NOT STIR – otherwise you’ll risk deflating the eggs. Fold the rest into the cheese mixture as gently as possible.

5.       Pour the mixture into the souffle pan, leaving about an inch from the top. Place the souffle on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. It should be puffed, deeply brown on top and still a little jiggly. If you are doing individual servings, only bake for 15 minutes.

6.       Enjoy.

SOFTWARE

·         3T butter plus more for souffle dish

·         3T all-purpose flour

·         1 ¼ c milk

·         6 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

·         ¼ c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

·         6 oz. diced pimento peppers, drained

·         ¼ c. sour cream

·         1 1/4 t Dijon mustard

·         1T minced chives

·         1/4 t sweet paprika

·         1/2 t. cayenne

·         6 large eggs (separated) plus 1 large egg white

VARIANTS

Much like the original pimento cheese recipe, adding more or less cayenne will change the slow burn. Changing out the sweet paprika for hot will also increase the fire. If you really want to get creative, exchange out the cheddar cheese for something else you like.