My parents brought us two boxes of delicious and delectable campari tomatoes the other week which clearly called for a self-attempted challenge. Added to this, my wonderful friend from work, B, gave me the lovely gift of the most enormous bag I’ve ever seen (honestly) of kitchen supplies- cake tins, baking sheets, cake molds big and small, and… an electric mixer. Cue angelic singing- this was the most exciting development my kitchen tool collection had seen in quite some time :). The thought of beating egg whites within two minutes by myself rather than within an hour of combined work of three strong boys. Thus I was definitely going to make a souffle.
So then began the challenge: can a fresh tomato souffle be done? All my online research pointed to the contrary: “It’s too watery!”, “Even removing the pulp won’t do it” “Sun-dried works better”- which, of course, begged for me to try it out and see if it was true. And I’m glad to say that I’ve found that it IS possible. It won’t rise quite as much, and it falls perhaps a bit more quickly, but in texture, mechanics, taste, and smell, it is a souffle. What else matters? :)
Fresh Tomato and Cheese Souffle
Adapted from Julia Child’s Classic French Cheese Souffle adaption at Epicurious
Ingredients (Makes 7 souffles):
- 1/2 cup grated San Pietro cheese (can be substituted for Parmesan or similar cheese)
- 2 tablespoons grated French Gruyere cheese
- 1 cup organic fat-free skim milk
- 1/3 cup double-concentrated tomato paste (I used Amore)
- 1 cup carved/hulled campari or cherry tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
- 2 1/2 tablespoons organic soy butter spread
- 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 large organic cage-free egg yolks
- 5 large organic cage-free egg whites
Process:
- Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F
- Butter 7 soufflé ramekins (or maybe butter 6 and have a 7th on hand ready)
- Sprinkle some of the grated San Pietro onto the buttered ramekin and coat the sides
- Warm milk in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming
- While warm is heating, melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat
- Add flour once butter is melted and whisk until mixture begins to foam and loses raw taste, about 3 minutes (do not allow mixture to brown)
- Remove saucepan from heat; let stand 1 minute
- Pour in warm milk and 1/2 of the tomato paste, whisking until smooth
- Return to heat and cook, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes
- Remove from heat; whisk in remaining tomato paste, paprika, salt, and nutmeg
- Add egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition
- Scrape soufflé base into large bowl and cool to lukewarm
- Carve out pulp of tomatoes (see picture below) and cut into chunks. Then, take a paper towel and blot out as much moisture as possible. Use a second paper towel if the tomatoes are still at all shining (this indicated water content) and toss the tomatoes, then blot again, until fully dry
- Once dried, toss half of the tomato chunks into souffle base mixture
- Sprinkle some salt into a large mixing bowl, then, using electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry (should take approx. 2 minutes- I suggest starting on the lowest setting and slowly working your way up, working in small circles that get wider and wider)
- Fold 1/4 of whites into lukewarm or room temperature soufflé base to lighten
- Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions while gradually sprinkling in the remaining Gruyère and San Pietro cheese
- Transfer batter to your prepared ramekins- and be prepared to need an extra one or two depending on the size of your ramekins (or les, if your ramekins are on the larger side)
- Place the remaining half of the tomato chunks in the middle of the ramekins, evenly distributing between the ramekins
- Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and then place sheet in the oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F
- Bake until soufflé is puffed and golden brown on top and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken gently, about 25 minutes (do not open oven door during first 20 minutes). This can take up to 30 minutes depending on oven heating
- Serve immediately for best results- can be stored outdoors for the first day and should be refrigerated afterwards
It’s delicious, and really best when hot out of the oven and steaming. They’ll sadly begin falling as soon as they come out, so if you wanted to snap a photo of them when puffy, be quick! The cheese taste overpowers the tomato a bit, but this can be combatted by a) using more or a stronger tomato paste, or b) using less (or a less strong) cheese. Tomato souffle is a popular choice, but it’s rare to find it with fresh tomato rather than sun-dried; just remember to dry the tomatoes out as much as possible prior to mixing in to the batter!
