Broccoli and Fontina Soufflé
A light, risen soufflé with the broccoli at its best, wrapped in melted cheese. It works as a vegetarian main or as a first course to impress.
This is the version that actually rises, unlike the easy broccoli soufflé: the whites are beaten separately and folded into the base, and that trapped air is the whole lift.
So the folding is the step that decides it. Slow, lifting movements from the bottom up — stir it in and the air you just built goes straight back out.
Ingredients
- 800 g broccoli
- Vegetable stock, as needed
- 2 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 4 tbsp heavy cream (double cream)
- 3 eggs, separated
- 50 g Fontina, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Butter and breadcrumbs for the dish
Method
- 1
Cook the broccoli florets in stock for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir over the heat for a couple of minutes more, to build a thick base.
- 2
Take it off the heat and add the cream, the yolks and the grated Fontina. Season to taste.
- 3
Beat the whites to stiff peaks and fold them in with slow, lifting movements to keep the structure. This is the step that decides whether it rises.
- 4
Pour into a buttered ovenproof dish dusted with breadcrumbs. Bake at 200 °C for 25 minutes, until risen and golden.
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Two versatile, forgiving vegetables that earn a fixed place in the weekly menu. In many dishes you can swap one for the other without changing anything else.
