Vegetable Souffle - Meatless Monday

I bought the recent issue of Cooking Light magazine on Saturday and while most of their recipes include meat they do offer a section called Everyday Vegetarian. I appreciate the fact that Cooking Light tries. Unlike the Food Network, who offers nothing but shows with recipes that include meat.

(A rant. So if you don't want to listen to it just skip down to the recipe) Seriously, Food Network! If you gave a damn you would realize that a portion of the American viewing public either doesn't eat meat or is cutting back. I know that we are not a huge market share but we are growing crowd. Do you want me to list a few of the more prominent vegetarians in the U.S. of A.? Also there is contingent of Americans that are cutting their meat eating by one day a week. Could you give them a bit of help by offering some innovative and interesting ways to use vegetables and alternative proteins? Is that too much to ask? Uhmmmm? Is it? Yeah, I didn't think so. You're just lazy asses.

I'm sorry I got a little off topic. That tends to happen when I've had a couple of glasses of wine. But I've been watching the Meat Network tonight and getting tired of converting recipes. It's annoying. Anyway, I've got a recipe that didn't take a chemist to figure out. (I'm not a chemist. I'm a librarian. Librarians don't do math or chemistry or any of those other istry things.)

Once again I took a recipe from a reputable source and changed it just a bit. Not a lot, just enough to make it awesome. Please disregard souffle in the name of this recipe. It is not hard. You do not need crazy utensils. And, you do not need special frou frou crap. So here it is:

Vegetable Souffle

4 cups cubed eggplant (1/2 inch cubes. 1 medium sized eggplant. do not peel)
1 cup chopped red pepper (about 1 medium one)
1/2 sweet onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 or so yellow summer squash (chopped)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups non-fat milk
1/4 cup flour (Linda, use something glutten-free that will thicken)
5 tablespoon Parmigiana cheese
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 large eggs
3 large egg whites
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Heat up the olive oil. Add eggplant, bell pepper, onion, summer squash, and garlic. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Take off the heat. Let cool while you make the cheese and egg mixture.
3. In another large pan add flour and milk. Stir with a whisk. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat for about 1 or 2 minutes or until thick. Add Parmigiana cheese, a little salt, and red pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted. Take off the heat to cool.
4. While cheese mixture is cooling down separate the 3 eggs. Whisk the whites until foamy. You don't have to have peaks or anything. I kept the yolks for breakfast the next day.
5. Crack the whole eggs into a fairly large bowl. Whisk slightly. Temper the eggs with the cheese mixture. To temper add a tablespoon of the warm cheese mixture to the eggs while whisking. Keep adding the cheese mixture to the egg mixture until you have about half of it mix in. Pour the egg mixture into the cheese mixture. If you have time you could just let the cheese mixture cool to room temperature before mixing with the eggs.
6. Add vegetables to the cheese mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites.
7. Spray a souffle pan or casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour in egg and veggie mixture. If using a souffle pan bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until eggs are completely set and puffy. If using a casserole dish bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until eggs are completely set and puffy. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 5 people

I hope you give this recipe a try. It turned out really great, wasn't that hard and could be very impressive.

Love,
M