Individual crab souffles

Description

This has quite robust flavours, but we feel that the crab has enough flavour to carry it.

Ingredients

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
25g/1oz butter, plus extra for greasing
25g/1oz flour
285ml/½pint milk
2 tsp tomato purée
½ tsp English mustard powder
dash Tabasco sauce
110g/4oz gruyere cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dressed crab, brown and white meat
3 free-range egg yolks, lightly beaten
4 free-range egg whites

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4. Butter the insides of six ramekin dishes and sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese.
2. Melt the 1oz/25g of butter in a pan and mix in the flour. Cook for a minute then gradually add the milk, bit by bit, to make a white sauce.
3. Gently cook the sauce until thickened then add the tomato purée, mustard powder, Tabasco sauce, gruyere and seasoning. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary then stir in the crab meat.
4. Allow to cool slightly then stir in the egg yolks.
5. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they form peaks. Add a spoonful of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold in using a metal spoon. Gently fold in the remainder of the egg whites.
6. Pour the mixture evenly into the six ramekins.
7. Fill a deep-sided roasting tin with about 2.5cm (1in) of water to create a bain-marie. Gently place the ramekins into the water - the water should come at least halfway up the sides of the ramekins - and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until risen and golden.
8. Serve at once with salad and warm crusty bread.