Shirred Egg & Gruyère Soufflé
The cooking term "shirred" refers to a method of cooking eggs in an oven, typically in a small, individual dish such as a ramekin, often with additional ingredients like cream, butter, herbs, or cheese.
The term "shirred" as it pertains to eggs likely originates from the British culinary tradition, though the exact etymology is debated. The word may derive from "shirrer," an old English term for a type of flat-bottomed dish used for baking, or it might simply describe a regional English way of cooking eggs.
This manner of cooking eggs was not exclusive to the Brits, however. Italy, Span and the French had their own versions, the latter of which is called "eoufs en cocotte," meaning, "eggs in small pots."
I could give credit for this recipe to the 2004 edition of the Dr. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook, which was released following his death in 2003 by his widow, Veronica Atkins.
But I won't.
Their recipe as published was flawed and didn't work. The original recipe required you to place your soufflé cups in a water bath before placing them in the oven. The French, in fact, do shire their eggs this way, in what is called a "Bain-Marie."
But the Atkins recipe didn't indicate whether the water was to be pre-heated or not. My experience said that it should be heated, but I tried it both ways, and even with almost tripling the cooking time, the eggs whites never came out fully cooked. Only once I stopped using the water bath altogether, and played around with the cooking time and temperature, has the dish been a success.
Shired Egg & Gruyère Soufflé
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup grated Gruyère Cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup less two tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 pinches fine sea salt
- 6-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- In two 8 oz soufflé cups, coat the inside with the non-stick cooking spray.
- Crack two eggs into each cup. Salt and pepper the eggs.
- Heat the cream in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. You want the cream warm, but not hot.
- Place the grated Gruyère on top of the eggs in each cup, then add the Parmesan Cheese.
- Pour the cream over the cheese in each cup. Salt and pepper the tops.
- Place in the oven on the middle rack for 23-25 minutes. The cream should be bubbling a bit, and you will notice the souffle has risen slightly and the tops are just starting to brown.
- Remove from the oven, and turn out the soufflé from the cups into a pasta or cream soup bowl.
