Euro Souffle

Serves 2

While on vacation on an island for a week one time, we did a pretty good job of shopping on the first day buying some simple items to nosh on for dinner the first night. Dried meats, cheeses, a baguette and other euro/medi style goodies. Midway into the week, the bread was getting hard and it was time to polish off the rest of the meats and cheeses. With a little cream and eggs, a souffle appeared just in time.

Ingredients

• 2 servings of day-old baguette slices (this will vary on the diameter of the baguette you buy)
• ¼ cup and 1 TBS of half and half or cream
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices of Swiss or cheddar cheese, chooped small or shreeded
• 2 servings of sliced dried salami, chopped large
• 1 TBS olive oil
• ¼ yellow onion, chopped small
• 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped small

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Pour the cream into a small bowl and soak the day-old baguette slices. Turn the slices a few times to allow them to soak up the cream. Slice into ½" squares and set aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl whisk the eggs, then lightly whisk in the salt, pepper, cheese, the tablespoon of cream and soaked bread.
4. Heat the olive oil in a small, oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat, no more than 350°F. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Cut the heat and mix in the salami. Pour in the egg mixture, and lightly blend it together with the onion/garlic/salami mixture.
5. Immediately place the sauté pan into the oven and allow to bake until the egg mixture on top is firm, about 10 minutes. When the souffle is ready, you notice it has puffed up about 20% in the pan. With an oven mitt, remove the souffle from the oven. Divide and serve. Remember, that pan is going to be hot for a while.

Notes

• Similar to a kitchen-sink omelet, other ingredients can be used in step 4 including mushrooms, tomato, green onions. Ditto for your selection of meats and cheeses in step 4. Cooked bacon or pancetta comes to mind. Get creative with your left-overs.