Chiffonade's Roasted Carrot Soufflé

I came up with this recipe because I had come to love the carrot soufflé sold by Fresh Market and other high-end stores. That stuff costs $5.00 for a small 4 x 4" block! There are recipes all over the net for carrot soufflé, but they all required boiling the carrots and a ton of sugar. My recipe decreases the sugar and roasts the carrots for maximum flavor.


Chiffonade's Roasted Carrot Soufflé
by Louise

3 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Tablespoons canola oil (any neutral oil will do - corn, veg, etc.)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

1 cup sugar
4 ounces butter (melted and cooled)
3 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated
1 roasting pan
1 two-quart soufflé dish

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Place carrot chunks and oil in roasting pan, and toss to coat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over carrots and roast 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Allow about 10 minutes for the carrots to cool before proceeding. Puree carrots in food processor for 2 minutes. With the processor running, add sugar, butter, flour, baking powder and vanilla and process for 1-2 minutes. Add egg yolks and process another 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peak stage (when beater is lifted, whites will form a soft peak). Do not over-whip whites.

Remove carrot mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in 1/3 of whipped whites to lighten carrot mixture. Fold remainder of whites into carrot mixture.

Spoon mixture into buttered soufflé dish and bake 45 minutes in 350ºF oven.

Can be eaten hot, room temperature or chilled.