Re: have you tried carrot suffle?

Hello:
Recipe Below
If I were doing the souffle I'd probably change the flour,sugar,butter to something
alternative for my family.

Where would French cuisine be without mirepoix and where would mirepoix be without the carrot? It's vital to the success of so many dishes and yet by the end of preparation it's frequently relegated to playing a supporting role to the meat or starch or wine that finished the sauce. The humble root vegetable has played second fiddle to so many things its likely to develop a complex. Yes, its a vital component to mirepoix but then that stinky onion has to step in and soak up all the praise. It's hard to imagine Easter without the carrot but then there's the issue of that damn bunny. It's high time for the carrot to take center stage and this soufflé recipe is all about our subservient friend. So delicious, easy and silky smooth, it's bound to become a go-to recipe for family gatherings, Sunday dinners or anytime you, like me, think it's high time the carrot was given the respect it deserves.

The carrot's transformation to the sweet, electrified orange beauty it is today has been a long and arduous one. Fossil pollen from the Eocene period dating back 34-55 million years ago has been identified as Apiaceae, a member of the carrot family, but this wild precursor to the sweet modern version was tough, pale and bitter. It wasn't until about five thousand years ago that evidence of carrot cultivation was discovered in Afghanistan. A millennia later, Egyptians created temple drawings that included images of the purple carrot. The modern orange variety would not emerge for another four thousand years.

It's difficult to trace the lineage of the carrot because horticulturists often confuse it with it's close cousin, the parsnip. Confusion also exists in references to it in ancient literary texts as both vegetables are often referred to as pastinaca. The Greek physician Galen simplified the matter by naming the garden carrot daucus pastinaca but issues still existed until the botanist Linnaeus created a plant classification system that identified the garden carrot as daucus carota and the parsnip as pastinaca sativa. Thank you Linnaeus.


Literary references and scientific evidence of carrot cultivation exists in ancient Greece where a variety of root crops were grown including leeks, radishes, onions, turnips and a bitter variety of carrot. Due to its acrid flavor, Greeks mainly used the carrot for medicinal purposes. They called it Philtron and believed it was an aphrodisiac (what wasn't an aphrodisiac to the ancient Greeks?). The Romans also believed in its ability to induce love and lust. The Emperor Caligula once served the Roman Senate a banquet consisting entirely of carrot dishes in order to see them "in a rut like wild beasts".

The purple or white carrot was a common ingredient in Roman culinary preparations including a sauce consisting of boiled carrots, cumin, salt, wine and oil. Romans also enjoyed raw carrots. A popular salad of the era consisted of raw carrots dressed in olive oil, vinegar and salt. The Roman gourmand Apicius references the carrot several times in his recipes including one entitled Caroetae Frictea Oenogaro Inferuntur which consisted of fried carrots served with wine.

Charlemagne grew purple carrots in his royal gardens in the eighth century but like so many before him, complained about its bitterness. He also disliked the unappetizing shade of brown it turned once cooked. The fact that it imparted the same muddy hue to everything it was cooked with intensified his disgust.


By the tenth century, Arab merchants carried back to their villages seeds of a yellow variety of carrot from Afghanistan. Eventually white, purple, red, pale yellow and even black varieties were cultivated in the region. In the 12th century, the Moors introduced the purple and yellow varieties to southern Europe and by the 13th century carrots of many different colors were grown in the fields and gardens of France and Germany. Cultivation of the root vegetable soon spread to the rest of Europe and was introduced by Flemish refugees to England in the 15th century. At the same time, European explorers introduced the carrot to the Americas where it quickly became a fundamental culinary staple. In Asia, purple, yellow and red varieties have been cultivated for centuries and along with the modern orange carrot, a rainbow of colors are still widely used. The carrot was first planted in Australia by convicts who arrived there in the eighteenth century from England.


In the eighteenth century, Holland was the leader in carrot production. By the 1600s three main carrot varieties were grown in Europe; yellow, red and deep gold, but near the end of the 17th century, the Dutch introduced a hybridization of the red and yellow breeds as a patriotic tribute to The House of Orange. The roots of the orange variety contained carotene which imparted the distinctive orange color of the modern carrot. Today, all modern carrots are descendents of four Dutch hybrids.


Carrots were one of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite dishes and legend has it that she was once presented by a deputy to the English court with a tub of butter and a wreath of golden carrots studded with diamonds. She ordered the diamonds to be removed and sent the tub along with the carrots into the kitchen. Her chefs presented her with the first recorded dish of buttered carrots.

During the reign of James I in the early seventeenth century, it was fashionable for women of the era to festoon their hats with plumes of leaves from the wild carrot. This wild variety of carrot is also called Queen Anne's Lace. During this time, carrots were also fed to dairy cows in the belief that the vegetable made their milk sweeter. In fact the opposite is true and this process produced milk that tasted sour and curdled.

A prolific gardener, Thomas Jefferson raised carrots in his gardens at Monticello along with 250 other vegetables. Carrots also played an important part in World War II when they were used as a substitute for the fruits and vegetables no longer accessible to soldiers in the field or the general populace. Due to the high levels of vitamin A found in carrots, a derivative of beta carotene, which strengthens vision, it was mistakenly believed that eating carrots enabled American and European pilots to see better during night raids, thus enabling them to pinpoint targets more efficiently than their German counterparts. This perpetuated the myth that it was "the carrot that won the war".


While the Vitamin A found in carrots is good for healthy skin, nails, hair and vision, too much of it may lead to a disease called Carotenemia which is an increase of the pigment carotene in the blood. This affliction damages the liver and frequently lends a yellow tint to skin, especially the hands and fingers. It can eventually lead to jaundice or even death. In 1974, Basil Brown, an English health nut, consumed ten gallons of carrot juice and took 10,000 times the recommended dosage of vitamin A over a period of ten days. He died of liver failure and glowed an unearthly shade of yellow in his coffin.

The noble carrot has come a long way and surely deserves a dish all its own. I think this soufflé fits the bill. Light as air but also creamy, with a spicy note mellowed by an overall sweetness, it's definitely one that will be loved by all generations. It reheats well and can be made a day ahead, stored in the fridge and reheated at 350 degrees for about fifteen minutes until warmed through. My friend Maureen passed this recipe along to me. She told me that it's always the hit of her holiday meals and after tasting it, I am certain that it will be a star at my next family gathering.




Carrot Souffle

2 lbs carrots, weight after peeling
6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 lb (2 sticks) melted butter
1/3 cup flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, chop and boil carrots in salted water until soft. While they are still warm, puree in food processor. Add eggs and flour in four additions, incorporating completely before addign the next addition. Puree until smooth.


2. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Pour into buttered ramekins or, as an alternative, a buttered cake pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. The center should be firm.

Yield: 6 servings

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