If you want to do something different than the usual mashed potato side dish for Thanksgiving, a potato soufflé is an eye-catching and impressive dish. It’s very smooth and rich, because of the gruyere cheese, and though it’s spectacular presentation only lasts for a short time, the leftovers are still delicious (if not six inches high!) This has a delicate potato flavor (read: can be bland), so make sure you use enough chives, parsley, salt and pepper.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Prep time: 1 ½ hours
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering the soufflé dish
- Flour for dusting the soufflé dish
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters (about 3 large potatoes)
- ¾ cup half and half
- ½ pound gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon of parsley, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon thyme, minced
- 1 tablespoon chives, finely minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 eggs, separated
- 2 egg whites
- pinch of cream of tartar
Directions
- Butter and flour a large soufflé dish.
- In a medium pot, cook potatoes until tender, 20 – 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Drain potatoes and return to pan, allowing them to dry out at medium heat for just a minute.
- Do not allow them to start to brown.
- Add butter and mash the potatoes, stirring in the half and half.
- Let potatoes cool a bit before stirring in the gruyere, parsley, thyme, chives and salt and pepper.
- Add the egg yolks and transfer entire mixture to a large bowl.
- Using a mixer, in a separate bowl beat 7 egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.
- Stir in one-third of the beaten egg whites into the potato mixture, folding the two mixtures together gently.
- Add the rest of the egg whites and combine until egg whites cannot be seen. Put mixture into a soufflé dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until is it puffy and golden brown serve immediately.
