These Cheddar Potato Soufflés make a perfect side dish for fall comfort foods. Fancy enough for company, good enough for everyday!
You can vary the cheese to match what you are serving it with. For example if you were serving them with and Italian style dish you might use fresh grated Parmesan or Friuli.
You can make these in individual ramekins or a larger soufflé dish. They don't tend to extract very neatly from individual ramekins so you might want to opt for the larger dish that you can just scoop them out of.
Don't let the garlic scare you off. It is very mild and sweet by the time it is done simmering in the oil.
I served these with Cider Brined Pork Chops and Maple Glazed Turnips. The sage in the potatoes married well with the sage in the Pork chops and maple flavours of the turnips.
Ingredients
Cheddar Potato Soufflé
- 2 lbs russet potatoes about 3 medium or 6 small
- ½ cup unsalted butter plus more for buttering soufflé dishes
- 12 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ cup chopped fresh sage
- 1 cup grated cheddar or 1 cup cheese(s) of your choice
- 4 egg yolks
- salt and pepper
- fine bread crumbs
- 6 egg whites
Optional Sage Butter Garnish
- oil for frying
- 1 cup loosely packed sage leaves cut in to thin strips
Instructions
- Boil unpeeled potatoes covered in salted water until fork tender. This may be 25-30 minutes. Drain and allow to cool about 10 minutes.
- While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over very low heat, covered for about 15 minutes. Check to make sure the butter and garlic are not going dark brown. If they are reduce the heat and remove the pan from heat for a few moments. If they are not then allow them to simmer slowly until the butter smells nutty and cloves turn golden brown. This may take 15-20 minutes. Remove garlic cloves and set aside. Add the ½ cup of chopped sage to the butter and set aside.
- When you can handle the potatoes (they should still be quite warm though), peel them and put them through a potato ricer with the reserved garlic. If you don't have a ricer then mash them as finely as you can. Stir in the butter/sage mixture, then the cheese. Stir in the egg yolks and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter your soufflé dishes and coat with fine bread crumbs.
- Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the potato mixture gently. Fold in ⅓ of the whites at a time.
- Divide the mixture between 6 one cup ramekins or a 6 cup soufflé dish. Bake individual ramekins 50-55 minutes. If using a 6 cup dish bake for 60-65 minutes.
- If using garnish, heat a ½ inch of oil in a small skillet. When shimmering fry the sage leaves in batches for 15-20 seconds until they are crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Garnish the soufflé(s) and serve.
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