Holy Souffle!

Souffle. Any novice's best challenge. However, since this was a bread and not a dessert, it was actually pretty easy! Since this recipe was from Real Simple, that is not really suprising. 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for the dish
• 10 slices (about 10 ounces) stale soft white or sourdough bread, crusts removed and torn into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 small onion, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 4 eggs, separated
• 7 ounces Swiss cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper 

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Butter a 2- to 2 1/2-quart soufflé or baking dish; set aside.

Place the bread in a shallow bowl and pour the milk over it. Set aside until the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

 

Mash the bread with your hands or a spoon and stir in the onions.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne.

 

Pour the mixture over the bread, stirring until well combined.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the bread mixture in 3 additions.

Transfer to the soufflé dish and bake in oven until golden and firm, 45 to 50 minutes.

Golden brown and DONE!

Some notes...

• Don't worry so much about having exactly 1/4 inch rounds on the onion. Slice your onion as thin as possible so it sautes evenly. If it's not exactly right, they'll cook more in the oven. 
• I didn't use butter on the dish - I used a non-stick spray. Simple way to cut out calories and fat. If you choose to do the same, really spray the pan so your souffle doesn't stick to the bottom.
• The recipe says cook until golden and firm, however, your souffle will be a little soft. There's a lot of liquid in there. I baked mine for a total of about 55 minutes. It was still very moist in the middle. I think next time I would add a bit of spice to kick it up.

Real Simple - Love this magazine/website. The recipe is here.