Zucchini Souffle

I had my doubts when I put this dish in the oven. It was dense and heavy and totally un-soufflé-like, but obviously something magical happened in the oven (yeah, basic cooking chemistry still kinda baffles me) because it came out as a light, fluffy delicious soufflé.

(Adapted from The Minimalist)

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

2-3 zucchini, peeled and grated

6 eggs, separated

8 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1. Spray a 6-cup soufflé dish with olive oil and preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.

3. When the skillet is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes (until the onion is soft).

4. Add the grated zucchini to the skillet and cook, stirring, until it’s very tender (10-12 minutes).

5. Dump the zucchini, etc in a colander and use the back of a spoon to squeeze any excess liquid out of the veggies.

6. Combine egg yolks and cheese in a large bowl and beat. (This is where we started to get worried. There’s not much liquid in 6 egg yolks and a bunch of grated cheese so it turned into a hunk of mush.)

7. Add the vegetables and parsley to the bowl. Stir to combine.

8. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they’re light and fluffy and just hold soft peaks.

9. Gently stir about a third of the fluffy egg whites into the egg yolk-cheese-vegetable mixture. Gradually add the rest of the egg whites to the bowl, stirring gently to combine.

10. Pour the mixture into the soufflé dish and bake 30-35 minutes (until golden and puffy). Serve immediately!