Potato & Cheese Souffle (Recipe)

I was watching Jacques Pepin on PBS the other day and got the idea for this recipe. I love cheese and I love anything that can make something simple look like something complicated. Just the word "souffle" invokes images of hours of hard labor in the kitchen. Not so with this recipe. I decided to make this to place on top of a simple salad to zazz it up a bit. Here's what I did.

First I took 4, 4 oz. ramekins, buttered them and coated them with bread crumbs and set them aside. Then I peeled, diced and boiled a medium potato until fork tender and rinsed it with cold water and patted it dry with a paper towel.

In a blender, I added an 8 oz. block of cream cheese (softened), the potato, a hefty pat of softened butter (about 3 tbsp.), 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (you can also use sour cream), about 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, 2 eggs and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper. Then I blended all this until well mixed and poured them into the ramekins until a little more than halfway full. I then placed them on a baking sheet and popped them in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes or until the souffles were puffed and golden brown on top.

After letting them cool and de-puff for a few minutes, I then inverted them onto a plate of spinach salad pre-tossed with a fig dressing. For the fig dressing, I whisked together 1 tsp. of fig butter (available at Trader Joe's), 1/2 tsp. of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp. of olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Simple and delicious!