Kale Souffle

I have a lot of kale in the garden right now and am embarking on some new kale recipes. I just learned that kale has lots of calcium, and vitamins A, B, and C. Also it is highest in protein of all the cultivated vegetables. Who knew?! This recipe comes from "From Asparagus to Zucchini" - a cookbook/guide to cooking seasonal produce put out by a bunch of CSAs from the Madison area. I find that the cookbook is a good resource, but the recipes tend to be decidedly Midwestern: lots of pasta, potatoes, and eggs to go with the produce item of choice.

Somehow while paging through I settled on this Kale Souffle. I say somehow because I neglected to read the full recipe before I started...midway through, while realizing my eggs were not at room temp, I started remembering episodes of Julia Child and warnings of fallen souffles. I also found myself whisking egg whites by hand - thank goodness my pal Steve came over kind of last minute or I would still be whisking.

Softened butter to grease baking dish
2T freshly grated Parmesan
4T butter
4T flour
1 2/3c milk, warmed
salt and pepper
pinch cayenne
5 egg yolks
1c cooked and finely chopped kale, at room temp
1c grated gruyere
2T chopped fresh dill (or 2t dried dill)
7 egg whites, at room temp

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of an 8-cup souffle dish or deep, round baking dish; sprinke buttered areas with parmesan.
2. Melt butter in saucepan; stir in flour and cook over low heat several minutes, stirring often. Whisk in milk until thickened; season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cool 10-15 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Stir in kale, gruyere, and dill.
3. Beat egg whites and pinch of salt in a clean bowl until firm peaks form. Fold a quarter of the whipped egg whites into kale mixture, then gently fold in the rest (don't overmix). Gently spread mixture into prepared pan. Place in oven, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until high, golden, and barely set in the center, 35-40 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6.