If you don’t have a microwave, there’s no such thing as boring leftovers. That’s my theory, anyways. The reasoning goes like this: if reheating means you’ll have to dirty a pan, you might as well add a little something — some butter, some garlic, maybe a sauce. Really, you might as well go all-out.
In the best case, the second dish is not only better than the first, it’s also unrecognizably different. Like making a soufflé out of last week’s soup.
I should mention that this soufflé is flatter and less airy than most. If you prefer a traditionally lofty dish, use an additional two egg whites (but not yolks!) and only one cup of soup.
Ho-hum leftover cuisine meets French fanciness. I love it.
Ingredients
- 2½ T butter
- 3 T flour
- 1½ C leftover cream of chard soup (anything nice and creamy will do)
- 4 eggs, seperated
- butter and a wee bit of grated hard cheese, for the dish
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for a couple minutes, stirring.
- Stir in the soup, add salt if needed, and bring to a simmer.
- Remove from heat. Add the egg yolks one by one, stirring each in completely before adding the next.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Do it by hand to Check out how buff you are!
- Using a rubber spatula, fold about a quarter of the whites into the sauce. Then add the rest of the whites and fold only as much as you have to; leaving it a little streaky now, instead of mixing it into utter submission, will make for a better soufflé in the end.
- Grease the soufflé dish liberally with butter. Grate a tablespoon or so of cheese into the bottom and tap-tap-tap it around to coat the bottom and sides. Makes for quite a tasty crust.
- (Carefully) pour the eggy goodness into the dish, and put it in the oven. Lower the heat to 375°F and set the timer for 25 minutes.
- Resolve not to open the oven until the timer goes off, not even for the tiniest peek. If you have a curious boyfriend or roommate roaming around, stake out the oven door and guard it with your life! (The expansion of air and steam in the tiny bubbles is what makes a soufflé rise; let in too much cold air, and it will fall flat.)
- When the timer’s done, check out the soufflé. If it’s still quite jiggly, put it back in for another 5 or 10 minutes.
- Slice, serve, and eat right away! But save some for the next morning — cold soufflé ain’t a bad way to start your day.
