Les Poissonchats

Quick hello from me with another save the date! I’ll be signing your copy of my book on Tuesday 13 December 2022 from 16.30 to 18.30 in Irenes super cute Bakery Kitchen shop in Berne, Spitalgasse 26, can’t wait to see you there! 

Aaaand Shine magazine has an interview with me in their online edition, fetch a cup (or glass) of something nice and enjoy the read!

Now on a more mundane note, here’s the recipe to the cheese soufflé I made the other day. Cheese soufflé, in fact, is super easy to make and works also on a what’s-left-in-the-fridge-oh-shoot-I-should’ve-done-some-groceries day. It’s cheese, milk, flour and eggs. We had it for lunch and I made some fairytale rapunzel salad to go along with it.

I’m very busy with organising the move to the chateau, that’s a bit of a challenge as I have to anticipate the restoration plan which currently is nothing like a plan at all. Also I’ve got about a gazillion of armoires and equal gazillion of little tables. One can’t have enough little tables it seems.

The past few weeks I was looking after my dear friend’s cat, he decided to go to Germany by bike, which, I stated, was a brilliant idea in AUGUST. Not October. Thank God he’s back his old frisky self. The cat belonged to the feral colony I managed a few years ago and when he took her in she was pregnant. Tidying up my computer I stumbled across some really cute photographs of her and her little boy, I’ve added them further down.

What you’ll need

• 50g butter from the farm
• 50g flour
• 3dl farmer’s milk from the fridge
• a whiff of nutmeg
• a pinch of salt and ground white pepper
• 120g grated aged conté
• 3 eggs, separated yolks from egg whites

How to cook it

Like all dishes that are supposed to rise in the oven it’s best to make them in the second quartile of the waxing moon. On all other days you may just as well add a teaspoon of baking powder to facilitate rising.

Preheat the oven to 180° with the fan on.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, heat until the mass bubbles but be careful not to brown it. Add the milk in one go and bring to boil while constantly stirring, also take care that you stir the bottom of the pan well else it might burn in. When the mass has risen and is thick, take off the heat and add the cheese, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper and set aside.

Beat the yolks until they’re foamy and light, fold under. Then beat the egg whites to a firm mass and carefully fold under too. Transfer to a large ovenproof tureen or several smaller dishes. Bake for 40 minutes for the larger dish or 20 minutes for the smaller one.

How to eat it

Immediately. Like right now, oven to table. Soufflé has the obnoxious habit of collapsing while getting cold (see also my photographs), this doesn’t harm the taste yet you won’t be able to brag about how super fluffy big you got that soufflé of yours. Hurry hurry! Also a light white burgundy works very well along!