Nigella Lawson's Pea Souffle

This is intended to be supper in its entirety, it's not a delicate taster before something more substantial. Mind you, some proscuitto eaten alongside is not a bad idea.

Serves 2
Vegetarian
Contains Dairy

Ingredients


• 85g gruyere, grated
• 120g frozen petits pois
• 30g butter plus more for greasing
• 15g flour, preferably Italian 00
• 125ml full-fat milk
• pinch ground mace or freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 eggs plus 1 extra egg white

Instructions


1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6, 200°C and put a baking tray in to heat up.
   
   
2. Butter a souffle dish with about a 600ml capacity if you've got one. Otherwise any same-sized casserole or container, preferably round, should do. If you've got parmesan to hand, then you could grate some over the buttered dish, tapping the dish so that it's lightly covered with it, much as you would when flouring a greased cake tin.
   
   
3. Put 15g of butter in a pan and cook the peas till soft.Puree them with the grated cheese and set aside while you make the paste thick white sauce.
   
   
4. Melt the remaining 15g butter in a thick bottomed pan and stir in the flour. Cook, still stirring for 2-3 mins, then off the heat, very gradually whisk in the milk. When all is smooth and amalgamated, put back over a low heat and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and all flouriness gone; if you're using ordinary plain flour you may find that you need another 5 minutes. Let the white sauce cool slightly.
   
   
5. Seperate the eggs:put the yolks, unbeaten, aside for a while. If you've got a lemon in the house, slice in half and wipe its cut side around the interior of a bowl - preferably a copper or else other metal bowl. Put in all the egg whites and a pinch of salt, and whisk until they stand in soft peaks. You want the whites firm; but not dry or stiff.
   
   
6. Leave them for a moment and then add 1 yolk to the white sauce, beating well, then add the other and beat that in. Then beat in the cheese and pea puree.
   
   
7. Taste for salt and pepper and sprinkle on the mace or grate over the nutmeg. Remember the egg whites will damp down the intensity. Take a clean spoon and add a big dollop of the whisked whites to the now pea-green sauce. Beat them in as roughly as you like, you could use an electric whisk and it wouldn't matter; the idea is just to lighten the mixture to make it easier to fold the remaining egg whites in gently, which you should do now.
   
   
8. When the whites have been serenely and gently folded in pour the mixture into the prepared dish - it should be about 3/4 full - and put it on the baking tray in the oven.
   
   
9. Immediately turn the heat down to gas mark 4/180°C and cook for about 30 mins or until the souffle is risen to well above the rim of the dish. I'm presuming you've got an oven with a glass door and a light that works so that you can see the action inside.
   
   
10. Take out of the oven and eat immediately.

Copyright Nigella Lawson

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