It is not only white asparagus „Spargel “ season in Germany, but also wild garlic/ramp „Bärlauch “ season. By coincidence I came across this wild garlic-recipe by Nigel Slater online via GUARDIAN at the week-end. I am always happy for new „Bärlauch“ recipes and in addition I had fresh wild garlic-butter in the fridge. Lovely mid-week dish with a green salad incl. mustard-dressing.
Note : Nigel Slater wrote that „the interior is best when soft and melting, like a thick cheese sauce, surrounded by fluffy clouds of garlic-scented froth“ . In my view that is impossible to achieve with 25-30min in the oven and using stiff egg-whites according to the recipe.
Anway it was delicious for mid-week and certainly lovely on a warm day outside or balcony. Almost any white wine will work . Don`t forget to serve with a green salad!
Ingredients
300ml milk
1 small onion, halved
2 bay leaves
6 whole black peppercorns
50g wild garlic/ramp leaves, chopped
55g butter
50g flour
4 large eggs, separated
125g Gruyere or cheddar cheesee, grated
4 tbsp Parmesan, finely grated
soft butter for the form
20cm soufflé or baking dish
Preparation
- Combine milk with halved onion, bay leaves and black peppercorns in a small saucepan/sauteuse. Bring almost to boil and turn off the heat. Let it rest for 1-2-3h
- Melt the
butter (me: wild garlic butter) in a medium saucepan/sauteuse
- Stir in the flour and cook for 3-4min on medium heat. Stirring continuously to a biscuit paste
- Remove the aromatics from the milk. Add the milk slowly with a wooden spoon to the butter-flour mixture. Combine everything until you have a smooth sauce. No lumps! Let it cook for around 5min and remove from the heat. Let it cool down!!!
- Add the egg yolks and combine
- Also add the cheese, chopped wild garlic leaves and combine
- Whisk the egg-white until almost stiff with a little bit of salt. Add the firm egg-white carefully to the mix. No large lumps of egg-white!
Check for additional salt.
- Sprinkle the form with 2 tbsp of fine grated parmesan. No add the mix to the form and sprinkle with rest of the Parmesan on top. Put in the pre-heated oven for 25-30min by 200 C or 400 F. I used top and bottom heat incl. farn. Certainly only farn 180 C or 360 F is the best.
- Serve immediately with a big green salad incl. mustard dressing
