Revisiting souffles, but as PUDDING souffles: Leek pudding souffle

Annalena has written before, of how she feels people are too fearful of making souffles.  Alas,  it does seem , ragazzi, that souffle making is like the Marines:  only the few.  Well, she has a new approach that she thinks MAY get some of you to change your mind.  Do understand, that while any kind of souffle making is very easy, there are  many steps, and your commitment is necessary.  Are you ready?  Ok, let's  begin.  This is based on a recipe Annalena saw in the New York Times, and felt was way too pretentious.  So, she is going to try to at least eliminate the pretentiousness.

For people who fear souffles, it seems there are two issues:  one, it's too unstable and it will fall.  Two:  you have to make it NOW:  if you wait, it falls.  Well, pudding souffles avoid that, because of a very simple fact:  their scaffolding is stronger.

Most souffles are essentially not held together by anything, but air.  You are relying on the air you beat into the thing to keep it up and steady.  And that's all fine, but once you break into that souffle, the air releases, and, well...  And breaks are easy.  Oh, are they easy.  It doesn't mean your dish will not be tasty, but the sense of failure when they collapse... Annalena knows.

Pudding souffles are based on a stronger structure:  essentially, a very thick, vegetable bechamel.  The recipe Annalena read allowed you to use vegetables other than leeks; however, in Annalena's mind, leeks are the Cinderella of the vegetable world.  We see them, we wonder about them, and then we move on.  Show of hands:  how many of you have used leeks in ANY way?  Hmmm.  Ok.  Now, how many of you have used them in a way other than vicchyssoise?  Hmmm, lost most of you.  And now, of those of you left, how many have used them for something other than poached leeks?

Well, now you'll have an excuse for a new way to cook them!  Here we go.  We start with our leeks:

 Annalena prepped these before the photo.  You need about 2-2.5 pounds of leeks for this recipe.  Since leeks are usually sold by the bunch,  this can be a bit of a problem, but your shopkeeper should be willing to weigh them for you.  2-2.5 pounds of uncleaned leeks will give you about a pound and a half of what you need, which is the white and light green part, just like the above.    

Next, you get a sharp knife and cut those leeks into thin circles:

 You'll get about 9-10 cups of them, so you'll need a big pan.  While you're cutting them, put a stick of unsalted butter in the pan, and heat it gently.  Don't let it burn.  Annalena actually heats her pan, turns it off, and then puts the butter in, which melts it nicely.  Add the leeks and a pinch of salt, and cook them at medium heat.  You'll see the leeks begin to sweat, and water will come off.  After about 8-10 minutes, you get:

 While these are cooking, you're going to make a small amount of bechamel.  Take a small pot, with a heavy bottom, and put two tablespoons more of unsalted butter, and two tablespoons of flour together.  Melt the butter and whisk the two together.  You'll first get thick clumps, and then it will even out.  Then, add a cup of whole milk, little by little, whisking as you go.   What you want to do is incorporate things, so that there's no solid flour left in the mixture:

You then drop the heat to very low, and let this cook, for about 2-3 minutes,  at a bare bubble.  You'll get a thick white "substance" that is the bane of many people's existence, as it is used incorrectly in  many ways:

Can you see how it thickened, and coats the whisk?  Ok, now mix this stuff with the leeks, and put it all in a blender.  Puree it, and you get a lovely thick "pudding," the color of a luna moth:

You can do this ahead of time, so if you think you want to make a souffle during the week, but you're concerned about time issues, fatigue, etc, do this on the weekend .  That is in fact what Annalena did.   And then when you're ready to make your souffle, really, the hard stuff is behind  you. 

When you're ready to make your souffle, grate half a cup of parmesan cheese, and separate six eggs.   Mix the cheese, and the egg yolks into this custard.    You get:

Before we address the egg WHITES, let's get our oven ready .  You preheat to low: 325, and then gather your pans.  You are going to need something that will hold 1.5-2 quarts worth of liquid: that's where the souffle is going, and you need something big enough for the souffle pan to fit in comfortably.  We're going to use  the "bain maire" or "water bath" (Here, Annalena likes the sound of the pretentious word, so she uses it).  

Now, PLEASE do the next steps in the order Annalena instructs.  It's very easy to slip in what is a very easy maneuver, and burn yourself, and so easy to avoid it.  Put the bigger pan or pot in the oven, and then heat water in a tea kettle, or a pot.   When it comes to a boil, bring the kettle to the oven, and pour the water into the pan. Ragazzi, Annalena cannot tell you how many stories she knows of people who thought "Oh, I can handle this, " and then tried to move a pan of boiling water into the oven, and realized the oven door is closed, tried to maneuver it... and you know what happened.    So do it the way  Annalena instructs.   She really doesn't care if you do other things her way (well, she does), but she worries about safety. 

Next, remember that custard/pudding we made?  It's sitting in a bowl, right?  Now, we're going to beat the six egg whites until they are stiff.  People are afraid of this, but you can do it.  Use a clean whisk, or use your food processor.  Almost none of us have cream of tartar around, which helps, but so does a quarter teaspoon of white vinegar (red will too, but then you color the egg whites an ugly brown shade. So don't do that).  

Just about every souffle recipe makes a distinction between folding and GENTLY folding the egg whites into the custard.  Annalena has never seen the difference.  Work gently,  and quickly, just until the white color disapears from the meringue.  Now pour this into your baking dish, put THAT into the water bath, close the oven door, and go away for an  hour and a half. 

Yup, an hour and a half.  Trust Annalena on this one.  It's worth the wait.    See?

If you are at all like Annalena, you want to eat this.. NOW.  Don't.  It's too hot, and you won't get the flavor of the leeks , which is very subtle.  Leave it in your oven, turned off, and then, when you're ready to eat, warm it up a bit more if it needs it, but it may not.

This is rich.  You need a salad, or some marinated tomatoes, or something like that to go with this.  But try it.  It may seem difficult.  Really, it's not.  Marshall your time, and do it, carini.  And let Annalena know how it all worked out.