Cheese Soufflé

3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup grated cheese
freshly ground pepper
sprig of parsley

Separate egg yolks from whites and leave at room temperature. Make a cheese sauce by melting butter, mixing in the flour and cooking till it bubbles, then adding the milk and cooking till it thickens, then stirring the cheese in. Mix well and allow to cool. Beat egg yolks with pepper and fold into cheese sauce. Beat egg whites until stiff. Using a rubber spatula, gently combine the egg whites with the cheese sauce. Pour into an ungreased baking dish and bake in a pan of hot water at 180 degrees C for 45-60 minutes, or until mixture is firm. Garnish with parsley.

Tonight, I'm serving this for dinner with a salad of rocket, pears, walnuts and camembert. All sorts of variants to the soufflé are possible ... for example, you could replace the cheese with a couple of tablespoons of pesto, making it a pretty green colour; or make mini soufflés in muffin tins (cutting the cooking time by half); or you could spice it up with some curry powder or aromatic herbs. Enjoy.