Shrimp and asparagus soufflé with Semillon Béarnaise
Ghostbusters
Le Soufflé chef Marc Guebert comes up with a surprisingly subtle dish to tame the David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008. By Anna Trapido.
The French expression à bout de souffle can be translated as "breathless" and the superb soufflés created by Gallic gastronomic icon Marc Guebert have been leaving Johannesburg diners gasping in gourmet pleasure for over three decades.
The chef estimates that he has whipped up over 400 000 of his light-as-air culinary creations since he arrived in South Africa in 1972; first at the legendary Île de France, later at Bistro 277, and most recently at the aptly named Le Soufflé at the Pineslopes Shopping Centre, Fourways. The success of his latest eatery even in tough economic times suggests that while food fashions may rise and fall, the popularity of Guebert's classic cuisine is much more stable than a soufflé.
While whisking up egg whites, he remarks: "Everyone is feeling the recession but I think those of us that have been doing this for a long time are less vulnerable to its effects than trendier restaurants. In hard times, people who used to feed their faces indiscriminately become more cautious and they go to the people that have shown that they can consistently deliver the goods."
Chef Guebert definitely delivered the gastronomic goods when he was presented with the David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008 and asked to pair it with a plate of food. He created a shrimp soufflé with nori seaweedwrapped seared tuna and salmon, and a wine-laden Béarnaise sauce that left all those lucky enough to taste it breathless with delight.
Of the Semillon, the chef remarked: "It has a lot of balls. It's very potent. Firmly acidic and very green so it needs something with which it can form a partnership. In the texture of tuna, the oiliness of salmon and the rich, welcoming quality of a soufflé, such a wine can show its value."
He continued, "Food and wine pairings are always a form of alchemy. The wine acts to open the tastebuds to hidden aspects of the food and visa versa. There is gold in the combinations."
À bout de souffle doesn't even begin to describe the alimentary grace that is a mouthful of Semillon Béarnaise and shrimp soufflé. Food fashions may come and go but this magical transubstantiation of egg whites is forever.
Shrimp and asparagus soufflé with Semillon Béarnaise
Recipe for one soufflé plate
1 squirt of Spray and Cook
45ml fish stock
15ml butter
15ml cake flour
½ egg yolk
1 asparagus spear, blanched
and chopped
30g shrimps
1 egg white, beaten to a stiff peak
Preset the oven to 220°C, spray the ramekin (soufflé container) with Spray and Cook. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over a low heat until the flour is cooked (about five minutes). Add the fish stock and stir well. Remove the sauce from the heat. When it is at room temperature, add the egg yolk and mix well. It is important for the sauce to be cool or the egg yolk will scramble in the heat.
Mix in the shrimps and the chopped asparagus. Fold the beaten egg white into the mixture. Pour into the ramekin until it is three-quarters full and bake until cooked through, approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.
SEMILLON BÉARNAISE
90ml Semillon
1 shallot, finely chopped
6 sprigs of tarragon
5 black peppercorns
3 egg yolks
7.5ml cold water
125ml clarified butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine the wine, shallots, tarragon and peppercorns and cook, uncovered, over a medium heat until the liquid is reduced by two-thirds. Remove the tarragon sprigs and reserve the liquid reduction.
Whisk the egg yolks and water until they are frothy and then place on top of a double boiler. Whisk continuously so as to ensure that the eggs cook and thicken but do not scramble. Slowly add the clarified butter. Add the reduced Semillon liquid to taste. If the sauce is too thick, thin it down with additional Semillon or water.
