
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
I promise you’ll find soufflé-making much less intimidating than it’s often made out to be. It will be from fridge to table in 20 minutes which makes it a real fast food. For cheese fans, there is nothing better than cracking the top of a soufflé to reveal its gooey middle, with in Stilton’s cases, strings of melted cheese. Yum! Serve it with a salad made from walnuts that have been toasted in sugar, some mixed salad leaves and a dressing made from extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and olive oil.
15g butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
30g Parmesan, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon plain flour
100 ml milk
60g Stilton cheese
2 free-range eggs, separated
1 free-range egg yolk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the plain flour and cook over a low heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk bit by bit, whisking as you go to avoid any lumps forming.
Boil gently for about 2 minutes or until it has thickened, remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the Stilton cheese, Parmesan, egg yolks and season well. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become stiff, but not too solid.
Take a spoonful of the egg white and mix it into the cheese sauce, to ‘loosen’ it. Now pour the egg white into the cheese mixture and, using a metal spoon, fold them together as quickly and lightly as possible.
Pour the soufflé into the ramekin and level off the top. Slide the tip of a knife 8 mm into the edge of the ramekin and slide it right round, as if you’re pulling the soufflé mixture away from the edge – this is what will make it rise. Put the soufflé on a baking sheet and place in the oven to cook for 18 minutes, until risen.