Like most of us “foodie nerds” BBC2 does like to make things he hasn’t made before and a couple of years ago he tried his hand at the dreaded cheese soufflé. These were ok, but he wasn’t satisfied and came across a recipe for twice baked soufflés and he hasn’t looked back since. He normally serves the soufflés with potatoes sautéed with bacon and onion, with sweet corn on the side. When he made them for our friend Lizzie, she asked me what we were going to eat and I flippantly said ‘posh bacon, egg and chips’ and the name has stuck around here! However, if possible BBC2 has ‘poshed’ it up a bit with his latest version…is there nothing you can’t do with smoked salmon and cream cheese!? I can honestly say these were delicious and a wow for a dinner party, poor Lizzie doesn’t each fish…more for me!

Twice Baked Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Soufflés

Serves 6

Ingredients :
1 ½ oz (45g) unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
1 ½ oz (45g) plain flour
½ pint (300 ml) of milk
3 large eggs, separated
½ pint (300ml) double cream
2 oz (60G) smoked salmon finely chopped
2 oz (60g) gruyere cheese grated
2 oz (60g) cream cheese

Method:
Preheat the oven at 220c (200c fan)
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the flour stirring for about a minute then remove from the heat, gradually whisk in the milk, return to the heat and bring to the boil stirring until the mixture thickens, take the pan off the heat and add the gruyere cheese and smoked salmon, sesason with salt and pepper and stir in the egg yolks until combined.
Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff but not dry then stir a large spoon of the egg whites into the yolk mixture with a folding motion to loosen the mixture, now fold in the rest of the egg whites ensuring not to knock out all the air.
Generously butter 6 small ramekins and place in a small roasting tin then spoon the mixture among them, the smoked salmon will sink to the bottom of the mixture so ensure that when spooning into the ramekins that you divide the salmon evenly among them. Pour boiling water into the tin until it comes halfway up the side of the ramekins, bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch; allow them to cool for a while -about five to ten minutes.
In a clean bowl, gradually add the double cream to the cream cheese so they are incorporated, butter a large ovenproof dish that will hold all the soufflés closely together and pour half of the cream over the bottom of the dish, then run a palette knife around the outside of the ramekins to loosen them and invert them free of the ramekins and carefully arrange them on the cream in the dish, pour the rest of the cream cheese mixture over the tops of each of the soufflés and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown, take to the table and enjoy.

No Lizzie’s were harmed during the making of these soufflés – for once, she wasn’t here! 😘