Ingredients for 4 single-portion ramekins:500 g broccoli3 eggs2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil2 tbsp grated aged Pecorino cheese salt and pepper1 knob of butter to grease the ramekins For the béchamel sauce:200 ml milk2 tbsp plain Flour30 g butter salt nutmeg
First of all prepare the béchamel sauce: Put the milk on to boil and in the meanwhile melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a very low heat. As soon as it has melted, add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes with a whisk, taking care not to let the mixture brown. Pour a little of the boiling milk into the saucepan, stir well and then gradually add the rest, stirring continuously. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, over a very low heat, stirring all the time so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat off and season with salt and nutmeg. Put the béchamel to one side and, to avoid a “skin” forming on top, cover the surface with cling film.
Now clean the broccoli, divide into florets and cook them in plenty of boiling, salted water for about 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan; strain the broccoli florets with the help of a slotted spoon, put them into the frying pan, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes (if they seem too dry, add a ladle of their cooking water). Transfer into a food processor and bend until you obtain a smooth puree.
Put the creamed broccoli into a bowl and stir in the egg yolks (setting aside the whites), the grated pecorino and the cooled béchamel sauce. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then add them to the mixture: fold in from bottom to top so the mixture remains airy. Fill the ramekins, greased with butter, up to about 2 cm below the rim, arrange them in an oven dish and pour about 1.5 cm of water into the bottom of it. Cook in a preheated oven, at 180 °C, for 10 minutes. After which, open the oven but leave the soufflé in it for about another 10 minutes; they tend to collapse with significant temperature fluctuations… they’ll “deflate” slightly in any case, which is normal, but they’ll remain soft inside. Leave the broccoli soufflé to rest for 10-15 minutes, tip them out onto plates and serve lukewarm.