Hard cheese
NOW then, first things first. On Friday 21 June, the feast day of St Aloysius Gonza- ga, also the longest day, a baby girl was born to Charlotte Amory, wife of our beloved literary editor, Mark. She is to be named Katharine Eleanor but I hope St Aloysius will keep an eye on her, as he was a very good egg indeed. Anyhow, joyous congratulations all round. Splendid to have three girls to spoil you in advancing years unless, of course, you happen to be King Lear.
I made my favourite soufflé with courgettes last week and it was so good I made another a few days later. It has all the glory of a cheese souffle, with the added bonus of the delicate courgette flavour and the charming pale-green colour to boot. It is extremely easy to make and works a treat, as do all souffles if you are firm with them. This one is made in a dish with a 13/4-pint capacity, and will be suffi- cient for two greedy people as a main course or three at a pinch.
Courgette soufflé
llb courgettes, topped and tailed 2 whole eggs 2 extra egg whites 2oz freshly grated gruyere cheese
11/2 oz plain flour (2 level tablespoons)
loz butter V4 pint milk dried breadcrumbs
Butter your soufflé dish lavishly, throw in a spoonful of fine dried breadcrumbs, rotate the dish until the sides and bottom are coated with crumbs then empty any surplus into the rubbish bin. I keep a plastic bag in the boiler cupboard into which I put any old bits of leftover bread, crusts and all; they will dry nicely and when needed can be easily made into the finest of bread- crumbs in a processor or blender, then `Harry made it for me out of old coat-hangers.' stored in a jar. Onward — slice the courgettes into thin rounds, sprinkle with a little salt, mix together and leave to drain in a sieve for about an hour. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of them, then steam over boiling water until quite soft. Make a thick béchamel sauce from the butter melted in a little saucepan, add the flour, stir well until thoroughly mixed, then add the warmed milk little by little. Season with a good deal of freshly ground pepper but hold the salt as yet. Sieve the courgettes (use a mouli) into the béchamel, stir in the grated cheese until all is smooth and melted, then off the fire add the well-beaten egg yolks. Transfer to a large bowl able to receive the beaten egg whites, leave to cool. Beat the 4 egg whites until stiff enough to make peaks, then carefully fold into the courgette mixture with a metal spoon, tasting for salt before com- pletion: you may not need any. Pour the mixture into the dish, sprinkle the top with cheese, stand the dish in a baking tin filled with as much water as possible, then place in the middle of a preheated oven at Gas 7, F425, C218, for exactly 30 minutes. Hey presto, a triumph. If you want to make larger quantities, just double everything and use two soufflé dishes rather than one.
Continuing with a cheese theme, I have a very good receipt for the Naxos equiva- lent of cheese straws from my cousin Jane Rabnett who lives there. She uses a Naxian cheese, kefalo tir i. Maybe you can get it here, but we don't have a Greek de- licatessen so I have used parmesan. The main thing is that it should be a very hard cheese, so old bits of cheddar might do, but it must be grated very finely. These biscuits are more like coins than straws and are perfectly delicious with cocktails etc.
Naxian cheese coins
4oz freshly grated parmesan cheese 4oz plain flour 4oz butter or good margarine if preferred 1 egg yolk a large pinch of salt 1/2 teaspoon each paprika, celery salt and dry mustard a large pinch of cayenne pepper
Keep the butter or margarine in the freezer in readiness. Sieve the flour, salt, and all the dry spices into a bowl. Add the cheese. Grate the frozen butter on the coarsest side of your grater and mix into the flour with a knife or fingertips until resembling breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolk and sprinkle into the mixture to bind. Knead everything together until pliable. Divide into three pieces. Roll each piece in the palms of your hands to make a long thin sausage shape with the diameter of a large coin or to suit your own designs. Place in the refrigerator on a board for at least two hours, then slice into thinnish discs. Arrange on oven trays and bake in a preheated oven at Gas 5, F375, C190, for 10 to 15 minutes, changing position of trays at half time.
Jennifer Paterson
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