Little Pitfalls of the Bain-Marie
15 January 2008
Ever since I discovered kohlrabi as a great ingredient for my cooking a few months ago I’ve had the idea of a kohlrabi soufflé somewhere in the back of my mind. Last Sunday evening I had no other cooking plans yet and I was also in the mood of creating something new, so I gave it a try. To give the dish a really special touch I seasoned the puréed kohlrabi with some tiny little pieces of carrots, pistachios and ginger before adding the yolks and the whipped egg whites, and the soufflé base already tasted delicious even before baking.
I just thought it was all great and perfect as I realized that the hard bit was only to come, when I found myself struggling with the bain-marie. I had never used this method before, which consists of placing the individual soufflé dishes in a roasting tin of hot water, which is then put into the pre-heated oven as a whole. This provides for a perfectly even and gentle heating. The downside is that the oven is hot and the filled roasting tin quite heavy, so placing the little soufflé dishes in there without either spilling some water into the dishes or burning your fingers can be a bit of a challenge. I was lucky to have Simon around to help me out with some crisis management when the soufflés were on the verge of drowning and we carefully had to skim some of the water with a dipper.
Safely lifting the boiling hot dishes out of the water again after baking was also a bit tricky, but we managed well with the help of a flat metal turner.
Luckily most of the soufflés were not too affected by the almost-accident, they rose nicely and their special taste was really enjoyable. Definitely on my list to potentially serve to guests, once I master the pitfalls of the bain-marie…
Kohlrabi Soufflé with Carrots, Ginger & Pistachios
| serves 4-5 as a starter |
| 1 kohlrabi |
| 1 large carrot |
| 1 shallot |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger
(very finely chopped) |
| 2 tablespoons of crushed pistachios |
| 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche |
| 2 eggs |
| some vegetable stock |
| some butter and bread crumbs for the soufflé dishes |
| some oil for frying |
Peel the kohlrabi and chop it up into pieces of about 2cm. Quickly sauté the pieces in a little bit of olive oil, then cover with vegetable stock and let them simmer until very soft, which will take some 20-30 minutes. Once soft, drain the kohlrabi and process with a blender together with the crème fraîche until very smooth. Let the mixture cool down to moderate temperature so the egg yolks will not clot when you later stir them in.
Meanwhile lightly roast the crushed pistachios in a non-stick frying pan (without any fat) and put them aside. Very finely chop the shallots, the carrots and the ginger into little cubes of about 1-2mm (rather 1mm for the ginger, so the taste will spread better). Fry the onions in a little bit of olive oil until slightly browned, then add the carrots and the ginger, season with salt and sauté for just about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down a bit. Add the roasted pistachios, leaving just a few aside for decoration.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Butter some small soufflé dishes and besprinkle them with some bread crumbs; rotate the dishes until the sides and the bottom are evenly coated and dispose of any excess crumbs. Prepare a roasting or baking tin large enough to accommodate all the soufflé dishes and fill it with hot, but not boiling, water of ideally about 70°C (bain-marie). Make sure the water level is not too high, so the soufflé dishes will not drown (consider that the level will rise once all the dishes are in there).
Mix the puréed kohlrabi with the sautéed ginger carrots and stir in the two egg yolks. Whip the egg whites until firm and gently fold them into the soufflé base. Fill the cream into the prepared soufflé dishes, decorate each one with a pinch of crushed pistachios on top, and place them in the bain-marie. Be very careful when shifting the baking tin into the oven, so the water does not spill into the soufflé dishes.
Leave the soufflés in the oven for about 25 minutes; by then they should have risen and the top should be slightly browned. Serve immediately, as the soufflé will deflate within a couple of minutes after taking it out of the oven!
| Suggestions for Entrées |
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