Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Souffliche

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Pesto Sauce - makes 1 cup

  • 3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, end trimmed
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided into 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more if needed)
  • salt & pepper for seasoning

Pie Crust - makes 2 crusts (freeze 1 for future use)

  • 2 cups flour + more for dusting work space
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1½ sticks butter, room temperature
  • 6 tbsp ice water

Souffliche Base

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup hot milk
  • salt & pepper for seasoning
  • 4 extra-large egg yolks

Filling

  • ⅓ cup finely-grated Parmesan cheese + more for topping
  • ⅓ cup pesto sauce*
  • 1½ tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, chopped finely
  • 5 extra-large egg whites
  • ⅛ tsp cream of tartar
  • salt for seasoning

How-to

Make Pesto

  1. Place the garlic cloves in a small pan over medium heat and toast for 3-4 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until light brown. Remove from pan, and set aside to cool
  2. Turn off the heat and immediately place the pine nuts in the still hot pan from the garlic and toss about 2-3 minutes until golden brown
  3. Place basil, pine nuts, garlic and 3 tbsp of cheese in the bowl of a food processor
  4. Pulse and stream in olive oil until the desired consistency is reached (a thick paste is usually what you're looking for). Scrape down sides of food processor if necessary to be certain all ingredients have been blended
  5. Season with salt and pepper and blend just a couple of seconds to incorporate
    Remove pesto from food processor. Fold in the remaining 2 tbsp of cheese. Adjust oil, salt and pepper to taste and it's ready to serve

Make Pie Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl
  3. Add room-temperature butter, and incorporate into flour with hands until fat is in pebble-sized pieces
  4. Add ice water slowly, mixing with hands. Gather into ball and divide in two portions. Wrap one portion in plastic, and freeze for future use
  5. Roll into round, ¼” thickness. Place in pie plate and crimp edges
  6. Bake for 6 minutes.  Take out and let cool while making the soufflé base

Prepare Soufflé Base

  1. Preheat oven to 400º
  2. Using a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add flour and stir with a wire whisk constantly, 1 minute
  3. Add hot milk, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 more minute
  4. Remove from heat. Add the egg yolks, one at a time and whisk until combined
  5. Add ⅓ cup of pesto and the Parmesan cheese. Stir until combined and place into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  6. Whip egg whites in a mixer with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt for 3 minutes. Whip 1 minute on low speed, 1 minute on medium speed and 1 minute on high speed. Look for medium-stiff peaks

Assemble & Bake

  1. Stir ¼ of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk-pesto mixture. Working in 3 parts of the remaining egg white mixture, gently fold in ⅓ at a time until all egg while mixture is combined with the egg yolk mixture, careful not to fold too much and deflate egg whites
  2. Transfer to pie crust, top with grated cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes. The souffliche should be golden-brown and fluffy, ready to eat immediately