This soufflé was also classed as a savoury. Not just at the end of dinner, but as a light supper for the late Queen, and King Charles III too. Don’t be daunted. It may seem a work of culinary alchemy but it’s really very easy to get right. The only proviso is to make sure everyone is ready to eat when it emerges from the oven. A soufflé waits for no one.
During my research, though, I stumbled across a story (courtesy of The Greasy Spoon blog) involving that slightly bonkers TV cook Fanny Cradock and the Duke of Windsor.Apparently they dined together in his Paris house in 1956, and she took away his recipe for haddock soufflé. Stranger things, as they say, have happened at sea.
SERVES 4 AS A STARTER
◆ 250g undyed smoked haddock
◆ 300ml full-fat milk
◆ 150ml single cream
◆ 50g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
◆ 50g plain flour
◆ 100g Parmesan, freshly grated
◆ 1 tsp English mustard powder
◆ 2 egg yolks plus 8 egg whites
◆ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
YOU WILL NEED
◆ 20cm souffle dish or ovenproof dish with a capacity of 2 litres, greased with butter
1. Gently poach the haddock in the milk and cream at a gentle simmer over a low-medium heat for about ten minutes. Remove the fish, let it cool slightly and flake, removing any skin and bones. Reserve the milk mixture.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour, mix well and cook for a minute, stirring continuously. Add a quarter of the milk mixture and keep stirring over a medium heat until smooth. Add the next quarter of milk along with half of the cheese and beat until smooth.
4. Add the remaining milk and cheese along with the mustard powder and season well with salt and pepper. Mix until the sauce is smooth, then remove from the heat and beat for about a minute to release some of the steam and to cool the sauce slightly.
5. Scoop the sauce into a large mixing bowl, add the flaked haddock and egg yolks, and mix to combine.
6. In another clean, large bowl whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Using a large metal spoon (preferably silver but never wooden) fold a good spoonful of the egg whites into the sauce to lighten the mixture and then fold in the remainder, being careful not to knock out too much air.
7. Spoon the mixture into the buttered dish and spread level. Place the dish on a baking tray and bake the soufflé in the bottom third of the oven for about 40 minutes until well risen, golden brown and with a slight wobble in the middle.
8. Serve immediately.
