Twice-baked Pumpkin, Polenta and NZ Goat Cheese Souffles

With much aroha to Top NZ Cheese Store - and much more - Sabato who shared this delicious recipe from Clare Aldous for NZ Cheese Month enjoyment. It features Cranky Goat soft goat cheese from Marlborough.

Serves 6
Extra virgin olive oil (EVO)

500g crown pumpkin, peeled and seeded (350g cooked)

Sal de Añana fine salt and freshly ground black pepper

30g Lewis Road Creamery butter            

30g Sabato gluten-free flour by Kate Fay

1½ cups whole milk         

25g La Grande Ruota yellow quick-cook polenta

1 tsp Accoceberry Espelette smooth mustard        

2 cloves garlic, crushed              

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg       

75g Cranky Goat soft goat cheese, crumbled 

2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 large eggs, separated  

                      
To cook:

300ml cream

Extra goat’s cheese

100g Hazelz Roasted Hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Mt Eliza Cheddar for grating

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Grease a 6-hole Texas muffin tin and line the bases with a circle of baking paper.

Cut the pumpkin into 1cm thick slices and brush with a little EVO, salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on a lined baking tray and roast for about 25 minutes or until tender. Mash with a fork until smooth then weigh out 350 grams. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Increase the heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute until it smells toasty. Add the milk in three batches, whisking constantly and bring to the boil. Drizzle in the polenta and stir in the mustard, garlic and the nutmeg. Season generously and cook gently for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and add the cheese, thyme and pumpkin and stir until well combined.

Whisk the 2 egg whites with an electric beater to form stiff peaks. Stir the 2 egg yolks into the polenta mixture, then gently fold in the egg whites in three batches.

Divide the mixture between the tins then place in a roasting dish that has been lined with a clean tea towel. Pour in enough very hot but not boiling, water to come two-thirds of the way up the side of the muffin tin.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until risen and golden. Take out of the water bath and when cool, invert the moulds onto a baking paper-lined baking tray, cover and chill until ready to cook again. Soufflés can be made 2-3 days ahead of the final cook.

To serve:

Preheat the oven to 210˚C fan bake. Place each soufflé in an ovenproof casserole dish and top with extra goat’s cheese and roasted hazelnuts. Pour ¼ cup of cream over each soufflé then a generous sprinkle of cheddar. Bake for about 12 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.