Sohla El-Waylly makes Edna Lewis' Cheese Soufflé

For the past few years in celebration of Black History Month, Meiko (Meiko and the Dish) and Aaron (The Hungry Hutch) have coordinated a virtual potluck, where 28 Black food bloggers contribute original recipes from the vast African diaspora. This year, our podcast's bringing a few dishes to the table—listen in and cook along with us.On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters.If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Sohla starts listing them at 1:22) before starting the episode.Edna Lewis' Cheese SouffléServes 45 ounces sharp white cheddar3 ounces Gruyère cheese2 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons flour1 cup warm milk3 egg yolks, slightly beaten1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon cayenne1 teaspoon dry mustard5 egg whitesPreheat the oven to 425°F. Butter a 1 1⁄2-quart soufflé dish, and set it on top of the stove or in a warm place to warm up.Grate the cheeses using the next to the finest side of a four-sided grater. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour, and cook a few minutes, stirring, until the flour is well blended, without browning. Pour in the warm milk, stirring all the while. Remove the pan from the burner and add the egg yolks, mixing them in well. Add the grated cheeses and mix thoroughly. Add the salt, cayenne, and dry mustard, and mix well again. The cheese should melt in the warm sauce without further cooking on top of the stove. Cover the pan lightly and leave to cool a bit before mixing in the beaten egg whites. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Stir the cheese batter and pour it onto the egg whites, then fold the whites into the batter gently and thoroughly until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the soufflé dish. (Or you could use individual ramekins.) Fill the dish three-fourths full. Set the soufflé dish in the preheated oven. After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 400°F, and cook for 15 minutes. Serve at once.Excerpted from IN PURSUIT OF FLAVOR by Edna Lewis. Copyright © 1988 by Edna Lewis. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. Is there a recipe you'd like to hear us make? Email it to us at [email protected]!Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/