The inauguration of the Supernova oven demanded a special recipe. Soufflé had been on my mind for a long time, so all I needed to do was pick a flavor. A parenthesis is necessary. I’d lived for 16 years in a place that did not have frozen artichoke hearts for sale in any grocery store. I was in a state of permanent frozen artichoke withdrawal syndrome, only relieved during sabbatical experiences like the one in Los Angeles. The move to Kansas last year marked the end of my frozen artichoke misery. I now keep those cute little bags in our freezer, and never run out of them. End of parenthesis. Having said all that, artichoke was a natural option to flavor my soufflé. To make it even more special, the bechamel base would be flavored with saffron. Artichoke hearts. Saffron. Case closed.
ARTICHOKE-SAFFRON SOUFFLE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, following Julia Child’s basic method)
6-cup mold, buttered and sprinkled with grated Parmigiano cheese
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup hot milk
good pinch of saffron
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites + pinch of salt
3/4 cup artichoke hearts, sautéed slightly in olive oil
1/8 cup Fontina cheese, grated
Heat the milk almost to the point of boiling, add the saffron and let it rest for 15 minutes. Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, don’t allow it to brown. Remove from the heat, and when the butter stops furiously boiling, add the saffron/milk all at once. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes more. The sauce will thicken considerably. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat, allow it to cool for 5 minutes or so, and add the egg yolks, one by one, mixing very well after each addition. This sauce can be prepared to this point and refrigerated; bring it to lukewarm before continuing. If you decide not to refrigerate it, then dot it with butter, cover it with a plastic wrap and go work on the egg whites.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm peaks form – depending on your mixer or the strength of your biceps it will take 2 to 5 minutes. Add 1/3 of this mixture to the sauce, to thin it slightly – add the prepared artichoke hearts and the Fontina cheese, mix well. I like to keep the artichoke hearts in chunks, but if you prefer you can cut them in very small pieces.
Now, add the remaining egg whites and fold into the sauce. You don’t need to mix it until it is all incorporated and totally homogeneous, because the “lift” of your souffle’ depends on the air present in the beaten egg whites. If you deflate it, you won’t have a well-risen souffle (it will still taste good, though).
Fill the souffle’ mold to 3/4 of its volume, place it in a 400F oven, reducing the temperature immediately to 375F. Cook the souffle’ for 30 minutes – do not open the oven door during the first 20 minutes. If you like it moist inside, serve after 30 minutes. I prefer to cook for 5 additional minutes, then the texture inside is perfect, not too dry, not too creamy.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
(click to enlarge)
Comments: A friend of mine recently asked me what I would do to get some drama into my life now that the kitchen hellnovation is over. Rest assured, Drama and Sally go hand in hand. Birds of a feather. Two of a kind. Peas in a pod.
I am not a soufflé-novice, and in fact it is one type of dish I’m pretty comfortable making, even for company. However, since the timing is so important, I normally prefer to make soufflé just for the two of us. I suppose it’s acceptable to throw a hysterical fit screaming at the husband to come sit at the table “RIGHT NOW!” but guests might be put off and never accept another invitation. Anyway, I was pretty confident making my concoction, prepared the bechamel based infused with saffron, sautéed the artichoke hearts, whipped up the egg whites. The oven was on, the beautiful blue indicator light had turned off, sign that Supernova had reached proper temperature.
Huge smile, I opened the oven door, and the smile became a shriek of horror followed by a “NOOOOOOOOO!” that could have awaken the dead. I forgot that we had assembled all the racks the day before, and there was no space in between them, so the only thing that could go in would be a sheet pan. Drama? You bet. Beloved husband tried to help but I advised him to leave the premises and take all canines with him. He complied. That’s when I stopped thinking rationally. I quickly put oven mittens on both hands, grabbed one of the racks, pulled it out, ran frantically around trying to find a spot where it could rest without burning any surface, re-arranged the other racks and finally placed the souffle dish inside. Slammed Closed the oven door, and noticed that the indicator light was back on. And on it stayed for quite some time (sigh). In other words, instead of going into a 400F oven, my production went into an environment that was more like 300F. Clear soufflé-abuse. I kept staring through the oven’s window, knowing that the first 15 minutes pretty much decide the fate of your souffle as far as rising goes. Mine was struggling. In retrospect, I should have waited for the oven to reach proper temperature, and only then placed the souffle in. The base is actually very forgiving, it can wait for a while before baking. I knew that, but I wasn’t thinking. Lesson painfully learned.
However, as I’ve said many times before, taste matters more than looks. And this was one tasty soufflé, my friends! Artichokes and saffron: a pair made in heaven, like peas in a pod, birds of a feather, Sally and Drama. 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Cinnamon-Wreath
Bewitching Kitchen 
A big yes to this souffle! Just yesterday I was eyeing the artichokes at the deli. I can’t find frozen ones here, but right now we have fresh ones in season! This is just a wonderful recipe to use your new oven, despite the rack incident, lol!
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I am a little insecure about prepping fresh artichokes, in the end I normally just steam them and eat them that way, with a little lemon juice squirted all over The frozen ones make my like a lot easier 😉
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This is worthy of that new oven for sure. Beautiful!
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Thank you, Greg!
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What a gorgeous, yummy souffle, Sally! I love both saffron and artichoke… and how puffy your souffle looks!
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Saffron is an amazing spice, nothing compares to it!
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Case closed is right! WOW! Fabulous.
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Thank you, Mimi!
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Oh, you had me so laughing!! I could just see you running with those hot racks to find a place to lay them down! And I can picture it so clearly because I’ve certainly been in that situation before!! If you didn’t add in your mishap I would not have thought this soufflé had suffered at all based on this photo! I too love those frozen artichokes and while I find them here, they are not always around…so sad!
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If I had to be 100% honest, I had to say I was running IN CIRCLES – but let’s just stay with my original description. Bad enough, right? 😉
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Looks perfect, I agree taste is always tantamount to appearance! I spent years perfecting the souffle when our kids were young and probably had way too many tense meals trying to get everyone to the table at the right moment. My solution was to sit them down and serve them salad while I waited in the kitchen for the right moment! You’ve inspired me to return to the souffle with this recipe! It’ll be for the two of us who would really enjoy it! Thanx for sharing!
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Your idea of the salad beforehand is great! Now, my problem would be I would very likely mess up something, knowing they are there, getting hungry and anxious… but, it’s worth a try in the future!
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Drama and Sally make for good reading and the souffle made for good eating, so all was well. It’s great that you can find frozen artichoke hearts now. We keep several packages in the freezer at all times. You never know when there will be an artichoke heart emergency! 😉
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Always ready for an artichoke heart emergency! 🙂 Loved it!
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Quite the drama there. It sounds like hubby and dogs should have been headed for the hills much earlier. 🙂 In spite of everything, it looks like you ended up with a lovely souffle and you used that beautiful baking dish from your intro to the new kitchen/stove post which I loved.
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I am always very grateful that Big Brother doesn’t have cameras installed in every household, every kitchen. No one needs to witness certain situations… 😉
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artichokes, saffron and then a souffle! Its all a little too much for me to handle right now! It is beyond amazing and so full of flavor that I wish I could dig in right now!
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Thanks, Jessica! But really, souffle is very easy when you don’t mess it up like “certain bloggers” 😉
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Oh my goodness, your soufflé is absolutely perfect looking! Bravo. Beautiful recipes.
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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Looks good to me.
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Let’s say the soap opera had a happy ending this time…. (cannot say the same about tonight’s dinner. Let me just add that it will not be on the blog ;-))
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Love making souffles and prefer the savoury to sweet! Have never used artichokes but friends coming for a weekend dinner ~ what a lovely first course! Six individual ramekins is probably my comfort zone limit, but no trouble about people waiting at the table . . . have this rather sonorous sounding Burmese temple bell which will ring until everyone sitting down, glass of wine on the ready! No one so far as exited not to return 🙂 !
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Agree with you, six individual ramekins would be the limit for me too, more than that I’d go into hyperventilation….
now you got me longing for a Burmese temple bell! See what you did? 😉
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Looking at this souffle I would have never known about your oven horrors – it looks light and puffy, well risen. And what a gorgeous baking dish too. I like how you work saffron into your recipes Sally. Artichoke is in its prime here — so delightful. This is a meal I would really enjoy trying (and I’ll try to be patient about the oven temperature but I sometimes find that hard too ;-)).
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Kelly, I love saffron! I’ve got a few more recipes down the line to share… using this precious spice 😉
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Souffle drama!! I love it. And I love that you now have access to frozen artichokes! I’m not quite sure I could live without them.
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I don’t know how I survived for so long with them. I tell you one thing: it was not easy. I must have Super Powers…
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Beautiful looking souffle, I love all the ingredients in it…looks perfect Sally.
Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a great week 😀
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Thanks for stopping by, Juiana!
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Hi Sally! I just found frozen artichokes in my store a few weeks ago. I’m so happy! I need to make this souffle in their honor. Thank you for sharing. A delicious end to a long Thursday! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Now if you hadn’t told us your oven rack story I would have never known! Your souffle looks gorgeous, it’s one of those recipes I open and immediately say “oooooohhhhh” when I see a food photo like that:D I have to be content imagining the taste until I get the chance to see if we have those frozen artichokes here. Are they just straight plain or seasoned and frozen?? xx
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ps.. couldn’t help but notice your souffle dish matches your supernova:D Pretty, pretty, pretty!
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Sally your soufflé looks amazing. I have been thinking about making soufflé for quite some time now and you have just inspired me to really give it a go this week. I haven’t made it for YEARS, but it is one of the first things I learned to cook so I feel confident I can bring back my soufflé charm:)
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I love your drama stories. I can picture them so well (likely because I live them too!). I’ve never made a savory soufflé, but I bet this is fantastic! I love artichokes too. So good. And all drama aside it looks like the new oven did a great job. 🙂
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