Easter Brunch recipe: Pesto Soufflé

Easter brunch is always so much fun to prepare. I browse my cookbooks and the internet in search of the ultimate fresh spring recipe to wow my guests. In an old issue of Seasons magazine I bookmarked a recipe for a green soufflé. Now the thing of soufflé is that it’s tricky. When you over-beat  those egg whites, your souffle will drop. Your oven’s temperature is also a decisive aspect in the equation, as is the size of the bowl. Everything has to be just right to get that fluffy inside and crusty top. Reason enough to have a rehearsal this weekend.

The green soufflé gets its colour from fresh basil. The more basil you use, the greener your souffle. I had less basil than the recipe required, so I got a light mint green result. To add even more flavour you add parmesan cheese and pine nuts. And let’s not forget that clove of garlic! Scrumptious, and rich in flavours, yet light enough to serve up as an appetizer or as a side dish. Enjoy! (Scroll down to the bottom for the full recipe)

Pesto-souffle (serves 4 small or 1 large)

• 75 gr butter
• 60 gr parmesan cheese, grated
• 100 gr fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove of garlic, mashed
• 40 gr flour
• 300 ml milk
• 50 gr pine nuts
• salt and pepper
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites

Preheat oven on 200° Celsius

butter the ramekins and cover the bottom and sides with cheese

Cut the basil and puree it in a blender

melt the butter in a pan and bake the garlic for approx 1 minute

add the flour while stirring and keep stirring until it turns a little white

continue stirring while you add the milk, bit by bit, till you get a creamy sauce

add the cheese and pine nuts while stirring frquently so the cheese can melt

Let the sauce cook for 3 minutes on very low heat

Whisk the whites of the eggs, in a large and clean bowl, until they stand in peaks on the whisk and look very creamy

beat the yolks in another bowl

Gently spoon the yolk mixture in and through the sauce, and do the same with the egg whites

Pour the mixture instantly into the ramekins

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes

Serve warm

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