Healthy Broccoli & Goat Cheese Souffle

Confession: I had to look up how to spell Souffle before writing this post... twice.

Until stumbling upon an amazing recipe website {Eating Well}, I never dreamed of attempting this notoriously difficult dish, but I am a goat cheese addict (anyone else with me?  I LOVE tangy cheese), and when I saw the recipe for a goat cheese and broccoli souffle that was under 300 calories per serving, I knew I had to try it.

During the process, I discovered two pleasant things:
1 - IT WAS DELICIOUS
2 - it was fairly easy

If you add "low calorie and basically nutritious" to the two requirements above, you have my full attention, and this recipe certainly did.  So, I felt like I'd share it with you.  Mine is basically the same as the one posted on their website, but I tweaked mine a bit, so the one below is the "Kitchen Table for Two" version.  =)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of finely shopped broccoli florets
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1.25 cups skim milk
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon rosemary (and a bit more for garnish)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup goat cheese (or more, whatevs ;))
3 large eggs, separated
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Process:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 2 quart soufflet dish (What the what?  I just used a circular casserole dish) with cooking spray

2. Microwave broccoli for 2 mins until tender crisp (seriously, NO LONGER than this.  It will cook in the oven with the souffle, and there's nothing worse than mushy veggies.  For real).

3. Melt butter and oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Whisk in flour and cook until it's the color of caramel.  Make sure to whisk constantly so that it doesn't burn.

4.  Add milk, mustard, rosemary, salt and cook until thickened (about 1-2 minutes).  Remove from heat and immediately whisk in goat cheese and the three egg yolks until well combined.  Transfer to a large bowl

5.  Beat the 5 egg whites in a mixer until soft peaks form.  Add cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form

6. Using a spatula, fold half of the egg whites into the cheesy mixture.  Fold in the remaining egg whites and the broccoli until no streaks remain.  Make sure not to crush the eggs - they need to be super fluffy!

7.  Transfer to souffle dish, sprinkle with more rosemary, and bake until puffed, firm to the touch, and an instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees.  For me, this was right around 27 mins.

This was what we got...

Holy YUM!  I served it with a little bit of Italian spiced chicken and some garlic couscous.  It wasn't too bad for a weeknight meal - done in under 45 mins.  And did I mention it was tasty and you can eat 1/4 of the whole thing for 250 cals?!  Let me know how you like it if you try it.  Have a happy Wednesday, friends!