Goats Cheese & Chive Soufflés

After all the talk on programmes like Come Dine With Me and Masterchef I really thought that it was going to be hard to get these to rise, however I was grateful to have no problems at all. They did start to sink gradually after they had been taken out of the oven, but it wasn't really a big problem for an everyday supper, and once I started tucking in it was the last thing on my mind. Before attempted them I read a tonne of recipes for the 'perfect soufflé' online, and this is the version I finally came up with - it's a lot simpler than many that I read, that add in extra steps such as a bain-marie, and various other different ways to get the soufflé to rise that extra inch such as breadcrumb-coated ramekins - by all means, add these in if you wish, but for me they weren't all that necessary.

Serves 2

Ingredients 

Butter

20g plain flour

20g butter

150ml milk

75g goats cheese, crumbled into small pieces

1 tablespoon chives

2 eggs, separated

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas mark 6.

2. Butter two ramekins.

3. Melt the butter slowly in a saucepan and mix in the flour to form a thick paste. Cook this for two minutes.

4. Add the milk bit by bit, stirring until smooth, and slowly bring the sauce to the boil. Once it has been brought to the boil, empty the sauce into a large bowl and leave to cool for a few minutes.

5. Add the cheese and the chives to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the yolks one by one and continue to stir in.

6. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff (you should be able to hold the mixture over your head without it falling out!). Add a couple of spoonfuls to the sauce, and fold in with a metal spoon. Do the same with the rest of the egg.

7. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, they should be roughly 3/4 filled.

8. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes until risen and brown.