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Sam Beall's Carrot Soufflé
![Sam Beall's Carrot Soufflé](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/10/dining/10BlackberryRecipe/10BlackberryRecipe-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to butter the dish
- 2pounds carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- 1tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
- 1cup whole milk
- 1cup crushed saltine crackers
- ¾cup, or about 3 ounces, grated sharp Cheddar
- ⅓cup minced or grated onion (about ½ medium onion)
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3large eggs
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart soufflé dish or baking dish.
- Step 2
Put the carrots in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Add a heaping tablespoon of salt and boil the carrots until they are tender enough to yield to the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Strain the carrots and purée them in a food processor. Put them in a large bowl; stir in the milk, cracker crumbs, cheese, onion, butter, cayenne, black pepper and remaining salt.
- Step 4
In another bowl, beat the eggs until they are quite foamy. Using a whisk and a gentle touch, mix the eggs into the carrot mixture.
- Step 5
Scrape the mixture into the buttered dish and bake for about 45 minutes, until the soufflé is slightly puffed, light golden brown and pulling away from the sides of the dish. Serve warm.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Better version is "carrot custard" from Lee Bailey's "Country Weekends." Boil 14 oz peeled and chunked carrots 20 mins til extremely tender. Purée in processor with 2. Tb unsalted butter. Add 2 eggs + 1/2 cup milk with pinch each of nutmeg, salt, pepper. Process til smooth. Bake in buttered 8" cake pan in a water bath at 375 for about 30 mins. Let rest in pan on wire rack for about 10 and unmold onto platter. Holds beautifully; can be made ahead; is also good cold.
In traditionsl Southern cooking, most casseroles made with eggs are called "souffles."
I would reduce the amount of salt. Loved the texture and easiness but next time will not add salt to water
"This is more of a casserole than a traditional soufflé." The photo looks like glop, without any trace of soufflé. It sounds like it would be tasty, but why call it something it's not?
Delicious! Followed recipe exactly except for adding more onions than indicated. Will definitely make this again for family and friends
The crackers offer lift and texture to this. Saltines are basically fat, flour and a bit of leavening. It's not unlike putting bread crumbs in a meatball or meatloaf, which bring a little lightness to the party.
Carrots are so much more flavorful when they have a baked char on them, so I would think this recipe would be fantastic. Twice baked carrot soufflé? I think you're onto something special.
I have made this multiple times, exactly as written, and always get compliments.
This would be called a sformato ("unformed") in Italy. A less classy moniker than souffle, perhaps, but a better descriptor. Multiple veg versions exist.
I really wanted to like this, but ultimately it just tasted like a scoop of puréed carrots. I followed the recipe exactly except for subbing scallions in for the onions, and I was hoping that the scallion and cheddar flavor would come through, but no dice. I put the mixture in individual ramekins in my fridge, so I’m going to try to take the remainder and form it into fritters with lots of extra cheese, salt, and panko instead.
I didn't like this at all. It worked fine but the taste was boring and somehow off. I used organic, premium ingredients. It's not a true soufflé anyway.
This is unfortunately not very good.Edible, but not worth the trouble.
Surprisingly bland recipe that sounded so good on the page. I was thinking this would be a knockout side dish for dinner parties -- good thing I did a test run before serving it to guests.
I substituted crushed waffle potato chips for the crackers, and I used a potato masher to lightly mash the cooked carrots with the butter before adding the other ingredients. It turned out delicious and with a great texture.
Used 1.5 tsp salt in boiling water with carrots. Added no extra salt. Delicious!
Anyone tried this with quinoa or other grain instead of saltines?
I used the miniature, pre-peeled carrots for convenience. I did not process the carrots; instead I mashed them as you would a potato. I also lowered the salt to a sprinkle. A "heaping tablespoon" is too much for my taste. I found I didn't have saltines, so I substituted with Ritz crackers. It was very tasty and a good substitute in place of a potato; everyone liked it very much.
Better version is "carrot custard" from Lee Bailey's "Country Weekends." Boil 14 oz peeled and chunked carrots 20 mins til extremely tender. Purée in processor with 2. Tb unsalted butter. Add 2 eggs + 1/2 cup milk with pinch each of nutmeg, salt, pepper. Process til smooth. Bake in buttered 8" cake pan in a water bath at 375 for about 30 mins. Let rest in pan on wire rack for about 10 and unmold onto platter. Holds beautifully; can be made ahead; is also good cold.
One opinion. Water bath is more bother. Nutmeg instead of cayenne is OK, but not my preference. Your version lacks cheese?
Can this be made without the crackers? Has anyone tried it?
Why do you need crackers
The crackers offer lift and texture to this. Saltines are basically fat, flour and a bit of leavening. It's not unlike putting bread crumbs in a meatball or meatloaf, which bring a little lightness to the party.
Could I bake the carrot rounds instead of boiling them, which extracts all the nutrients? Also, what about leaving the skin ON as it holds many nutrients?
Carrots are so much more flavorful when they have a baked char on them, so I would think this recipe would be fantastic. Twice baked carrot soufflé? I think you're onto something special.
I don't see any reason why you couldn't bake the carrots; in fact, I'm trying that next time.
Don't you find the skins add an odd taste to the carrots?
I would reduce the amount of salt. Loved the texture and easiness but next time will not add salt to water
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