Appetizers

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Gougere

For those of us who love South Park and can't pronounce French names, I might suggest Cheesy Poofs.

The first time I had gougere was at a hot spring retreat in Breitenbush near Portland Oregon. They were the hit of the New Years dinner feast and quicky aquired the name "gouge-ers." For those of us who love South Park and can't pronounce French names, I might suggest Cheesy Poofs. (I have had a number of requests for a pronuciation guide for gougere; goo-jhuh-air. I hope that helps!) Cheesy Poofs are delectable because of the crisp dough exterior coupled with a moist melted cheese interior. There are countless variations I can think of that would be great with Gougeres. You could easily add spinach, or bacon, or change to a sweeter cheese like marscapone to re-invent this recipe each time you make it.

Ingredients

Conversions to European measurements can be found here!

For 4 people

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole wilk
Large pinch salt
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup plain all purpouse flour
5 eggs
1 cup grated gruyere cheese (plus extra for garnish)
pinch white pepper

Procedure

Heat the milk, water, butter, and salt to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and add all the flour at once. Stir the mixture and return it to the stove, if necessary, until the sauce pulls away from the sides of the pot. You'll mix it for about one minute. This process should form a fairly thick clump of mixed flour in the center of the bowl. Do not over-heat or over-mix the batter or it will start to seperate and become greasy.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Beat in two eggs vigorously, then beat in two more untill a smooth glossy paste is formed. This should not take more than just a couple of minutes.

Next add the white pepper and gruyere cheese. Just mix the cheese in evenly.

Butter a baking sheet and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Form small balls of the dough with a pair of spoons, on the baking sheet. The gougeres will expand when they cook so leave some space between each one. If you have a good pastry piping bag it's ideal for forming the gougeres. Beat the last egg and brush it over the top of the gougeres. Last, sprinkle the remaining gruyere cheese over the gougeres.

Bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until nicely toasted. After about 20 minutes switch off the heat to your oven and open the oven door partially and allow the gougeres to cool slowly. They can be served warm or cold.

Suggestions

If you like this recipe and you are looking for something to go with it. Try the Cedar Wrapped Salmon. The cheese flavors in the gougere pair up with the Chevre in the salmon wraps delightfully.

Tricks

I don't really have any tricks for this recipe. It's pretty straight forward. The dough is simple and forgiving, if you cook with your kids this is probably a great recipe to let them help.

Note

Cold gougeres are typically served at wine tastings. So don't forget the leftovers for a picnic, or a quick reception appetizer.