Whole Tangerine Souffle With Anne Willan Recipes

ANNE'S TWICE-BAKED SPINACH SOUFFLéS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Generously butter six 8-ounce ramekins or one 6-cup jumbo muffin tin or silicone muffin mold.
• To prepare the spinach, in a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the well-drained spinach and season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture is well combined and all the moisture has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
• To prepare the béchamel sauce, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook until foaming but not browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in the warmed milk. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it is at a boil, continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• You will use two-thirds of this sauce as the base for the soufflés. The remaining one-third will be the coating sauce at the end. Transfer one-third of the sauce to a small saucepan. Add the half-and-half and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Stir the spinach into the larger amount of sauce; taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the egg yolks one at a time, stirring between each addition. Set aside.
• To make the soufflés, in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
• To lighten the soufflé, add about one-fourth of the beaten egg whites to the spinach-sauce mixture and whisk until well mixed. Pour this mixture over the remaining whites and fold together until smooth.
• Fill the prepared ramekins with the mixture. Place them on a baking sheet and bake until the soufflés are puffed and browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Leave the oven on.
• Transfer the soufflés to a rack and cool slightly. Turn out each soufflé into a large gratin dish or casserole. If the soufflés stick, release them by running a butter knife or offset spatula around the rims. Set aside.
• To finish the soufflés, bring the reserved cream sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the mustard and 1/4 cup of the Gruyère cheese. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the soufflés to coat, then sprinkle each evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup Gruyère. (The dish may be made to this point and held at room temperature for up to 1 hour or covered in the refrigerator for up 24 hours. However, it is important to bring the dish to room temperature before browning.)
• Bake the sauce-covered soufflés in the gratin dish until browned and bubbling, 7 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
• béchamel sauce
• Whether called béchamel (French), balsamella (Italian), or white sauce, this classic sauce is based on a thickener (a roux) made of butter and flour that is whisked together with milk. Simple seasonings include nutmeg, salt, and pepper, but the flavor is improved if the milk is first infused with aromatics like bay leaf and peppercorns. It is as simple as making tea: place the milk and aromatics in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let rest for about 10 minutes; strain out and discard the aromatics.
• Béchamel sauce is the workhorse of cuisine. You can change its consistency by varying the proportions of roux to milk. The more roux, the thicker the sauce, and vice versa. Thin sauces are used as bases for soups and other sauces. Add cheese, for example, and it's Sauce Mornay. A medium béchamel sauce is used for coating and in vegetarian lasagna. Thick béchamel is the base for savory soufflés.

TANGERINE SOUFFLé

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, mix 3/4 cup sugar, the water, tangerine juice, salt and gelatin. In small bowl, beat egg yolks slightly; stir into gelatin mixture. Heat just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon tangerine peel. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. (If mixture becomes too thick, place pan in bowl of hot water; stir constantly until mixture is proper consistency.)
• Make 4-inch band of triple-thickness foil 2 inches longer than the circumference of 6-cup soufflé dish. Extend dish by securing band around outside edge.
• In large bowl, beat egg white powder and water with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Fold gelatin mixture into egg whites.
• In chilled large bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold whipped cream into egg white mixture. Carefully turn into soufflé dish. Refrigerate about 8 hours or until set.
• In food processor or blender, place prickly pears. Cover and process until smooth. Press through sieve to remove seeds. In 1-quart saucepan, mix pears, honey and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in 1 teaspoon tangerine peel; cool.
• Just before serving, carefully remove foil band from soufflé. Serve soufflé with sauce. Store in refrigerator.

TANGERINE SOUFFLES

Steps:

• Bring orange juice, 1 cup sugar and tangerines to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tangerines are very tender, about 35 minutes. Strain mixture through sieve set over medium bowl, pressing firmly on fruit. Transfer fruit to processor; puree until tangerine peel is finely chopped. Return puree to saucepan; mix in 1/2 cup strained syrup, reserving remaining syrup for another use. (Puree can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Beat cream, Grand Marnier and 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until stiff peaks form; refrigerate. Butter ten 2/3-cup soufflé dishes or ramekins; dust with sugar and arrange on baking sheet. Stir tangerine puree over low heat until warm; set aside.
• {Step One} Beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until egg whites are stiff and glossy. {Step Two} Fold 1/4 of whites into warm tangerine puree in saucepan. Fold tangerine mixture into remaining whites in bowl. Divide mixture among prepared dishes.
• Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.