Recipe for an incredibly delicious cheese soufflé from the cookbook Kook!

Kook! is, according to author Maarten van den Biggelaar, ‘not a cookbook, but a book about cooking’. It isn’t a recipe book either, although it does contain many of his favorite recipes. Think of it more as a culinary encouragement book; with Kook!, Maarten wants to inspire everyone to spend more time in the kitchen. We think this is a fantastic initiative and are sharing his recipe for an incredibly delicious cheese soufflé.

Maarten: “This dish goes into the oven as a pale-yellow mousse and becomes a light, golden-brown mass in the oven that rises out of its dish and smells wonderful, only to be eaten immediately. Perhaps one of my favorite dishes, and a wonderful example of the marvelous properties of an egg. Some people find a soufflé intimidating and are afraid it will fail, but it’s actually super simple to make and appears on our menu at least once a month. Cheese soufflé, baguette—preferably a ficelle (a very thin baguette with lots of crust)—mixed greens or butter lettuce with watercress (and a bottle of red Burgundy): an addictive combination.”

How to make the cheese soufflé

• Preheat the oven to 180–200 degrees. Make a béchamel sauce by melting butter in a pan over low heat, adding the flour and stirring until there are no lumps of flour left. Add the milk and keep stirring until it gently boils.
• When the mixture becomes slightly thick, usually after about five minutes, turn off the heat and add the grated cheese. Stir and make sure the cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce. Keep adding cheese until the mixture is slightly thicker than paint. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to an ovenproof dish with a high rim.
• Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff, using a mixer or by hand. Carefully fold the egg whites (you don’t want to break the protein crystals) into the cheese mixture (so you now have four egg yolks left, which you can keep in the refrigerator for a day or three—but I usually make mayonnaise with them the same day). Place in the center of the hot oven and let it bake gently for thirty minutes. Then carefully open the oven door and check whether the soufflé has risen and whether it already smells of baked cheese.
• If so, it’s ready. Remove it gently from the oven, otherwise it will collapse. Divide the soufflé among the plates with a spoon. Eat with salad and baguette. (Don’t worry if the soufflé doesn’t rise properly; it will still be delicious. After thirty minutes, do check regularly that the cheese isn’t burning.)

Title: Kook!
Author: Maarten van den Biggelaar
Price: €29.99
Publisher: Podium

© Maikel Thijssen Photography

Also read:

• Recipe: the most delicious cheese sauce for fries (or anything else)
• How do holes get into cheese?
• You’ve been grating your cheese incorrectly your entire life