Easy cheese souffle

Tamara West

There's nothing tricky about this clever recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup	Bread, one-day-old bread with crusts removed and broken into small pieces with fingers or cut into small dice (Main)
1 ½ cups	Whole milk (Main)
50 g	Butter
2 cups	Cheddar cheese, tasty, finely grated (Main)
4	Eggs, large, separated

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 190C. Butter a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish well.
2. Place the bread and milk in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to boiling point. Remove from the heat, add the butter and cheese and leave to melt, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the egg yolks and season with salt.
3. In a large clean bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then using a large metal spoon fold a tablespoonful into the milk mixture to loosen it. Fold the remaining egg white through in a cutting and folding motion. Don't over-fold, it doesn't matter if some egg white is not completely folded through.
4. Place in the prepared ovenproof dish, then run your thumb around the edge of the souffle mixture to help the souffle rise. Bake for 25 minutes without disturbing until well-risen and the top is brown. The souffle mixture should be just slightly runny in the centre, as it will continue to cook a little once removed from the oven.
5. Serve immediately with a leafy green salad.

Make a change

• Tip in 1 tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese to coat the sides and base of the dish, or coat using fine breadcrumbs.
• Try adding a little dijon mustard with the cheese for extra flavour.
• I like to grind black pepper over once plated, but add to the uncooked mixture if you prefer.