Ingredients
- About 1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup polenta
- About 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- About 8 cups rinsed, crisped butter lettuce leaves
- Mushroom dressing (recipe follows)
- Cambozola fondue (recipe follows)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
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The Grand Cafe,
San Francisco
Serves 4
Directions
Butter 4 soufflé dishes (1 1/4- to 1 1/2-cup size) and dust with the parmesan cheese.
In a 3- to 4-quart pan, mix milk with polenta and 3/4 teaspoon salt; add 1/4 cup butter, cut into chunks. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils, then reduce heat to medium and stir until polenta is thick enough to hold a clean path for a few seconds when spoon is drawn across bottom of pan, 8 to 10 minutes; remove from heat.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, whip egg whites until they hold distinct, moist peaks.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, whip egg whites until they hold distinct, moist peaks.
Stir baking powder into polenta, then add egg yolks and stir to mix well. Add about 1/4 of the egg whites and stir to mix. Fold polenta mixture into remaining egg whites. Spoon batter equally into soufflé dishes. Set dishes slightly apart in a shallow 10- by 15-inch pan.
Bake in 375°F regular or convection oven until soufflés are well browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Set each on a plate and mound lettuce leaves beside the dish. Spoon warm mushroom dressing equally onto lettuce. Spoon cambozola fondue equally over souffles and salads; sprinkle with chives. Add salt to taste.
Mushroom dressing: Rinse 3/4 pound mushrooms; trim and discard discolored stem ends, and thinly slice mushrooms. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat, frequently stir mushrooms; 1 tablespoon each butter or margarine, olive oil, and minced shallot; and 1 teaspoon minced garlic until mushrooms are lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons port and 3/4 cup condensed beef broth; stir often until liquid is evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add salt to taste. Use hot. If making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill; reheat to serve.
Cambozola fondue: In a microwave-safe container, combine 2 tablespoons fat-skimmed chicken broth and 1 cup firmly packed cambozola cheese(about 1/2 lb.), cut into chunks. Heat in a microwave oven on full power (100%), stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Rub mixture through a strainer into a bowl; discard residue. Use hot. If making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill; reheat in microwave oven. Makes about 1 cup.
Notes
You can also bake these soufflés in 12 muffin cups (2 1/2 in. wide, 1/3-cup capacity); butter the cups and dust lightly with grated parmesan cheese (1/4 cup total), then fill cups, mounding batter slightly. Bake as directed (step 5). Ease the baked souffles free with a thin knife, tip them out of the pan, and serve hot (3 per serving). If making up to 1 day ahead, let cool (in soufflé dishes or out of muffin cups); reheat several at a time in a microwave oven on full power (100%) until steaming, 1/2 to 1 minute for each batch.