GOUGÈRES

I hadn’t made gougères in many years, until a cordial host named Kermit Lynch asked for them as an hors d’oeuvre at a dinner I cooked for him. Gougères are delightful when crusty and warm, just from the oven, with chilled Chablis, or Champagne. Many great dishes from the French country cuisine of earlier days have been neglected, or forgotten, even in La Belle France, and it was a happy moment to enjoy them once again.           

1 cup/240 g water
1 cup/240 g whole milk
½ lb/225 g unsalted butter
2 tsp/10 g sea salt 
2 cups/300 g AP flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
7-8 whole large/420-480 eggs
5 oz/150 g Gruyère or Comté cheese 
2 oz/60 g grated cheese for sprinkling

Bring water, milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Off heat, add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or whisk until mixture comes together. Add cayenne and nutmeg. Continue stirring over low heat for about 1 minute. Add eggs one at a time in a mixer or, preferably, by hand with a whisk (it’s easy, and nice – no machines!) until mixture is thick and glossy and relaxes gently. Watch the dough, not the number of eggs you add; you may not need all the eggs. Stir in the cheese. Drop 2-inch balls of dough about two inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or Silpat. Sprinkle tops of gougerès with grated cheese. Bake at 375º F in the upper part of the oven until golden brown, about 14 or 15 minutes. Rotate the pan once halfway through for even browning. Alternatively, brush the tops of the gougères lightly with egg wash before baking and eliminate the sprinkle of cheese on top. Serve warm.  

©2010 christopher lee