Greatest Recipes Ever: Michel Roux Jr’s soufflé Suissesse

Thomasina Miers picks out Michel Roux Jr's signature soufflé dish as one of the world's finest dishes

‘I cooked this recipe with Michel Roux at Le Gavroche when I was in the finals of MasterChef six years ago-it’s one of the restaurant’s most famous dishes. They use a little more double cream than is stated in the recipe and simmer it to reduce it to a silky, rich sauce that is indescribably good.

‘Give it a go, making sure you season the cream well with salt and pepper. Served with a crisp, green salad, this makes a delectable dish in the depths of winter. Give it to friends as a starter if you really want to impress them, or, better still, make one big soufflé for supper with the green salad’ – Thomasina Miers

Soufflé Suissesse recipe

Extract from Michel Roux Jr’s Le Gavroche Cookbook (First published in 2001 by Weidenfeld & Nicholson)

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 45g butter
  • 45g plain flour
  • 500ml milk
  • 5 egg yolks
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper
  • 6 egg whites
  • 600ml double cream
  • 200g Gruyère or Emmental cheese, grated

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Method

Heat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas mark 6. Melt the butter in a thick-based saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for about a minute. Whisk in the milk and boil for 3 minutes, whisking all the time to prevent any lumps from forming.

Beat in the yolks and remove from the heat; season with salt and pepper. Cover with a piece of buttered greaseproof paper to prevent a skin from forming. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm, not stiff, peaks.

Add a third of the egg whites to the yolk mixture and beat with a whisk until evenly mixed, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the mixture into four well-buttered 8cm diameter tartlet moulds and place in the oven for 3 minutes, until the tops begin to turn golden.

Meanwhile, season the cream with a little salt, warm it gently and pour into a gratin dish. Turn the soufflés out into the cream, sprinkle the grated cheese over them, then return them to the oven for 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

For those who speak French, here is Michel Roux Jr making this dish in a video: