Some recipes can be intimidating, and soufflé is definitely part of the group. But honestly, it is very easy and flexible, in the sense that you can add pretty much anything you want to the basic formula. Plus, even if it does not rise as high as you would like, it’s always delicious. I guess the only way to really ruin a souffle is baking it to the point it dries out, but to get there the surface would be so dark, it would act as a warning sign. Of course, I suppose one could forget it in the oven. But, I digress. This version is a variation of my default recipe from Julia Child, a recipe that never let me down. Broccoli makes the egg mixture slightly more dense, so it won’t rise as much as a souffle prepared exclusively with cheese. But I will share a couple of tricks to maximize lift under the circumstances. Read on.
BROCCOLI SOUFFLE‘
(adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
6-cup mold, buttered and sprinkled with grated Parmigiano cheese
Parmigiano cheese for mold (about 2 T)
3T butter
3T flour
1 cup hot milk
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites + pinch salt
3/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 to 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Before you start, cook the broccoli florets. Place in a microwave-safe dish, season lightly with salt, and sprinkle some water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes. Immediately remove from the dish and lay on a plate to cool. Cut in pieces that are no more than 3/4 inch big. Reserve.
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 milk all at once. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes more. The sauce will thicken considerably. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne.
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 cheese and mix well.
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. When it’s almost fully folded, add the broccoli florets and fold a few times, very gently.
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.
Serve right away, souffle waits for no one!
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: The best way to maximize lift when using a heavy vegetable such as broccoli, is to cut it in smallish pieces and add them to the base when you are almost ready to pour it into the baking dish. Some recipes will ask you to process the veggies, but I much prefer slightly larger pieces. For that very reason, blanching, steaming (or cheating and using the microwave) is also recommended. I’ve made the exact same recipe using raw broccoli and prefer it this way.
Here’s free advice for my readers: if you are the partner or family member of a food blogger, get out-of-the-way once the souffle is served. Yes, you will be eating it soon, but picture obviously trumps appetite. Obviously.
ONE YEAR AGO: Panettone Time!
TWO YEARS AGO: How the Mighty Have Fallen
THREE YEARS AGO: Festive Night at Central
FOUR YEAR AGO: The Perfect Boiled Egg
FIVE YEARS AGO: Light Rye Sourdough with Cumin and Orange
SIX YEARS AGO: Homemade Calzones
SEVEN YEARS AGO: Plum-Glazed Duck Breasts
EIGHT YEARS AGO: Holiday Double-Decker
NINE YEARS AGO: New York Deli Rye
Bewitching Kitchen 
Awesome bake.
I have tried once but it deflated as soon as its out of the oven 😦 LOL no chance for even a decent shot from handphone camera 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
best laid plans! 😉 but I bet it tasted delicious!
LikeLike
This looks superb ! The only thing is … I just don’t understand non-metric measurements. 3T = …. 30 grams? One cup milk = 250ml? Is what I am guessing. If ever you should find the time (we’re all so busy, I know!), I would be so grateful if you could include the metric measurements. Thanks. And please don’t worry if you can’t … I understand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
T = tablespoon
I normally don’t bother converting to metric every single recipe, unless it’s patisserie stuff that needs absolute precision. I figure that for a simple cooking recipe it’s easy to find online the correspondence very easily – milk, one cup = 237 g. WHen I am making stuff like a souffle I never resort to my scale, find that using cups and tablespoons is so much faster, easier, and it works well, even if you add a bit more or a bit less, no major harm done
but for patisserie and bread baking, all my recipes go in metric
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh gosh I’m just the opposite, because I am obviously not as relaxed/experienced about baking as you are — but thank you so very very much for taking the time to get back to me. This was a post I wrote some years ago now on soufflé making, based on Delia Smith’s recipe. https://myhomefoodthatsamore.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/food-that-gets-blown-into-deliciousness-the-suave-souffle/
LikeLike
Oh, so glad you reminded me of Delia Smith! Her recipes always work! and I do have one or two of her cookbooks, need to re-visit them!
LikeLike
By the way I had to smile at the “relaxed’ baker comment – I don’t think you’ve been around my kitchen “sometimes’ 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tee hee – glad I made you smile ! I would love to be in your kitchen, even “sometimes” 🙂
LikeLike
This is the worst sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever seen in my life.
Having said that, this is an excellent souffle recipe and I love your insightful comments at the end. I think souffle is a dish more people should attempt as it is far easier than its reputation suggests. It’s also a great way to use up small amounts of leftover ingredients. And it impresses the impressionable! What more could one ask of a dish?
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
well, well, well, if you are against a little veggie in your sugar cookie, there’s really nothing I can do, but label you as a very picky person, with a narrow mind. Sad. Bigly so.
😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
You just wait til we build that wall between Brazil and America, and kick you back over it.
And Brasília is gonna pay for it!!
#MAGA (Make America Gringo Again)
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s gonna be a big wall – a bit tricky around the Panama Canal, but nothing that Great American Ingenuity cannot deal with… (sigh)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah, I forgot about that canal.
Hmm. We might need to bring in some Mexican workers….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely, Sally and we often have another version from one of the oldest books that I have and it is a regular fall and winter dish for us. Thanks for posting this recipe, I’m going to give it a try…
LikeLiked by 1 person
it always makes a dinner feel special, isn’t it?
LikeLike
Gostei dessa receita. E da ideia de untar com manteiga e queijo parmesão. (nunca tinha ouvido essa ideia; mto boa). Uma hora dessas experimento.
LikeLiked by 1 person
voces vao adorar, tenho certeza!
LikeLike
Lovely consistency Sally. I have had success with soufflé before. However, it depresses me when they shrink by 50% between oven and table.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s one of those situations in which running shoes come in handy 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Haven’t made a vegetable soufflé awhile and I love broccoli – so thank you for the nudge! Never use a microwave, and, besides the ‘nuking’ issue love the exactness I can get when I steam vegetables – quite my favourite method. Am smiling at Conor’s comment . . . I always make sure my tableful of friends are sitting there waiting for their dish to avoid that ‘deflating’ experience . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
no doubt steaming works wonders… I am too lazy sometimes and feel that if I can get by with my cheater’s method… faster and less stuff to clean up (shame on me!) 😉
LikeLike
I’ve only made soufflé once (and it actually worked which was at least half the joy) but never a broccoli soufflé. I just love this idea – something different from the usual and it brings a festive flair – definitely passes as a veg side too 🙂 might just have to incorporate it into the Christmas menu this year. Your golden top looks amazing (une belle réussite) and, yes, Family Hold Back is the term we use here – haha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Family Hold Back! Oh, that is great! I do think broccoli is a great twist for the souffle – no doubt a traditional cheese version is nice, but to be completely honest, it is a bit too “homogeneous” for my taste – I like to have some bits of other flavors in the mix
LikeLike
I don’t know why I don’t think of making a soufflé more often, it’s such a delicious and easy dinner. You can’t go wrong with Julia Child. Thanks for the reminder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is really very easy and all things considered, not too time-consuming – I sometimes make the base (bechamel, cheese) and save in the fridge. Then I warm up, add the whatevers and beat the egg whites – works great and cuts a bit of the prep time at dinner
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did someone who shall remain nameless object to the pause for the photograph?
T
LikeLiked by 1 person
let’s say the individual did not object, but was absent-mindedly parked between me and said souffle, at that point collapsing quickly.
LikeLike
P.S. This looks amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve made one (I used to make spinach souffle all of the time, but I’d make individual servings due to lack of confidence. I have a gorgeous large souffle dish that I’ve owned for 40 years that I’ve never actually made a souffle in. Sheepish grin.
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh, you MUST use that dish!!!! and then showcase it in all its vintage glory on your blog!
LikeLike
Goals!!!
LikeLike