'VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking' by Catherine Mason

Sorrel soufflé

Taken from "VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking" by Catherine Mason (Pauntley Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-9534879-2-8, price £12.99)
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One for the gardeners, since you're unlikely to find sorrel in the shops in sufficient quantity to make this dish. If you have a little garden space in which to grow a few vegetables, sorrel is simple, quick and trouble-free in cultivation, and with its lemony tang, makes a useful addition to salads, as well as a wonderful ingredient for sauces, soups and soufflés, as here. Although perennial, it is best re-grown from seed every year as it coarsens with age.

1 washing-up bowl of fresh sorrel leaves – the exact quantity is unimportant
60 g (2 oz) butter
60 g (2 oz) flour
280 ml (10 fl oz) milk
110 g (4 oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs, separated
cream of tartar (optional)

Oven temperature: 190°C (375°F, gas 5)

Wash the sorrel thoroughly. Spin it in a salad spinner, or dry it in a clean tea towel, then cram it into a large pan (no need to add water), and wilt it over a moderate heat. Turn the leaves over and over, much as you might toss a salad, so they cook evenly. They will virtually disappear, the mountain of raw leaves turning into a few spoonfuls of intense green slush. Set aside while you make the sauce which forms the basis of the souffle.

Make a roux sauce using the butter, flour and milk. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and gradually incorporate the milk, stirring constantly. The secret is to only add more milk when all lumps have been eliminated from the sauce after the previous addition. This involves some vigorous arm work!

When all the milk has been added to the sauce, stir in the drained, wilted sorrel. Take the pan off the heat, stir in about three quarters of the cheese (save the rest for the top), and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow the sauce to cool slightly, then beat in the egg yolks, one by one.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer (or a wire balloon whisk) until they form stiff, snowy peaks. Both bowl and beaters must be scrupulously dry. Add a pinch of cream of tartar (if you have any) while whisking – it makes the souffle lighter.

Stir a heaped tablespoon of egg white into the sauce to slacken it, then push the egg whites to one side in their mixing bowl, carefully tip the sauce in the other side and gently fold the mixture together using a metal spoon. The idea is to amalgamate the two, with minimum loss of air. If a few small fragments of egg white remain distinct, this is fine, and probably better than over-mixing.

Tip the mixture into a buttered 20 cm (8 inch) soufflé dish, sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until well-risen and golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

Sorrel soufflé

SERVES 4