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Smoked Cheese Gougère with a lemon and Fennel Filling
Serves 6
Working time: about 40 minutes Total time: about 1 hour and 15 minutes
Calories 240, Protein 7g, Cholesterol 80 mg Total fat 15g, Saturated fat 5g, Sodium 260mg
3 fennel bulbs, cleaned and quartered lengthwise
2 lemon balm sprigs
1 stick celery trimmed and roughly chopped
1/8 tsp salt
some freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
30 g shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
some finely chopped fennel leaves, for garnish
Choux dough
125 g plain flour
1/6 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
75 g polyunsaturated margarine
2 eggs
1 egg white
30 g smoked cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 220'C. First make the choux dough for the gougère. Sift the flour, salt and cayenne pepper on to a sheet of greaseproof paper. Put the margarine and 1/4 litre of water into a heavy, bottomed saucepan and heat them gently until the margarine melts. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the water and margarine to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and slide all the dry ingredients off the paper into the liquid, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return the saucepan to the heat and continue to beat the mixture until it forms a ball in the centre of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes.
Lightly beat the eggs and egg white together. Using an electric handheld mixer, or beating vigorously with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporate the eggs, a little at a time, into the cooled mixture, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cheese and continue to beat until the mixture forms a smooth, shiny paste. Pipe or spoon the choux dough round the edge of a greased 28 cm, ovenproof dish, making small mounds of dough that just touch one another.
Bake the gougère in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 190'C and continue baking for another 35 to 40 minutes, until the gougère is golden, brown and well risen.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Bring 60 cl of water to the boil in a heavybottomed saucepan. Add the fennel, lemon balm, if you are using it, celery, salt and some black pepper to the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer the fennel for 5 minutes, or until it is tender but still crisp. Drain the contents of the pan, reserving the liquid; keep the fennel and celery warm until required. Discard the lemon balm. Return the liquid to the pan and add the lemon rind and juice. Bring the liquid to the boil and boil it rapidly until it has reduced to half its original quantity.
In a small bowl, blend the cornflour with 3 tablespoons of water, to form a smooth paste. Add the paste to the lemon, flavoured stock and cook it for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens. Remove the pan from the heat.
Place the fennel and celery in the centre of the gougère and pour the lemon sauce over the top. Sprinkle the walnuts over the gougère, and garnish it with a few finely chopped fennel leaves.
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