Carrot Souffle!?

1:10 PM Remy Maguire - Manifest the Best 1 Comments

My friend Loren gifted me my very own "fancy" chicken! Hormone free, happily raised, organically fed and perfectly sized for two. There's nothing as inviting as the smell of an herbed chicken roasting on a chilly Sunday afternoon. Home. Tonight I'm going to try a new recipe. I've never made a souffle and certainly not one so unconventional. I'd recommend getting yourself some pretty organic carrots to make this dish. Since I've never made this before, we have nothing to compare it too -- so I'll be tweeking the recipe to make it more fitness freak friendly. (Andrew won't know the difference.) I found the original at Simply Recipes and posted in below. I'n parentheses I'm jotting down my substitutions)


Carrot Soufflé Recipe

This soufflé isn't nearly as touchy as a traditional soufflé. In fact it's hard to mess up. It barely puffs up, which means it doesn't deflate that much either. You might want to experiment a bit with the seasonings, such as some ginger, ground or fresh minced, some thyme, maybe a little orange zest, or a pinch of coriander. You might also try substituting all or some of the carrots with parsnips. Just remember the better the inputs, the better the results. A good use of carrots from the farmers market, or organic carrots which tend to be sweeter and more flavorful.


INGREDIENTS
2 lbs carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
Salt for salting cooking water


2 Lbs fresh carrots
Salt for water
1 cup whole milk (2% or skim milk)
1 cup Saltine cracker crumbs (I've got panko crumbs in the pantry - I'll try these)
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (1/4 cup)
1/3 cup minced onion
1 Tbsp room temperature unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large eggs

METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2 Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with an inch of water. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Strain the carrots and purée in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
3 Place carrot purée in a large bowl. Slowly add in the milk, a little at a time, whisking after each addition so that the mixture stays smooth, not lumpy. Mix in the saltine cracker crumbs, the grated cheese, onion, butter, Kosher salt, cayenne, and black pepper.
4 In a separate bowl, whip up the eggs until frothy. Then whisk them into the carrot purée mixture.

5 Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffed up a bit and lightly golden.
Serves 8.