Herbfarm Crab and Lemon Thyme Soufflé

Tuesday November 6

And yet a third recipe from the Herbfarm Cookbook - we are really on a roll here.

Holt somehow did what Elizabeth had done and forgot to preheat the oven, probably because he was waiting for Barbara to get in from the garden with the lemon thyme. The soufflé was thus a touch more sloppy than it would have been otherwise, but damn tasty nonetheless.

original recipe for
6 FIRST-COURSE OR 4 MAIN-COURSE SERVINGS
Fine dry bread crumbs, for the ramekins
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
Salt
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons minced lemon thyme
1/2 pound fresh crabmeat, picked over to remove cartilage
Freshly ground pepper
6 large egg whites, at room temperature

Butter six 6-ounce or four 8-ounce ramekins and coat with bread crumbs, tapping out any excess. Set the prepared ramekins in a large shallow roasting pan.
Melt the butter in a medium sauce-pan. Add the flour and whisk over moderate heat until bubbling, about 1 minute. Add the milk and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and whisk until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks, then whisk vigorously over moderate heat until the mixture boils again. Whisk in the lemon thyme. Transfer the soufflé base to a large bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and let cool.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Whisk the soufflé base until smooth, then fold in the crabmeat. Season with salt and pepper.
Beat the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Stir one-third of the beaten whites into the base to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites. Spoon the batter into the ramekins, filling them to within 1/2 inch of the rims. Wipe the rims clean.
Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the soufflés for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve immediately.

What we did instead was make our standard big ass soufflé (which we haven't had since March!) using swiss cheese and lotsa crab. The main inspiration from the Herbfarm is the lemon thyme and no onion/shallot in the soufflé base. Very crabby, very good!

(Yes, I know I've already put up a picture of the egg yolk just like this one, but the Euclidean perfection never fails to amaze me. The vedge is here just 'cuz it's pretty.)