Serves 6
• 2 oz. dried black mushrooms
• 5½ Tbs. butter
• 4 Tbs. flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill weed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped shallots
• 8 egg whites
• pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 to 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
Garnish:
• Hollandaise Sauce or Spicy Mousseline Sauce
1. Pour about 1½ cups of boiling water over the dried mushrooms and let them soak in it for several hours or overnight. When they are rehydrated, drain them and reserve the liquid in which they were soaked. Wash the mushrooms very carefully to remove every last bit of sand, and chop them coarsely.
2. Melt 3½ tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook this roux over low heat for several minutes, stirring constantly. Mix together the hot milk and the sour cream, blend them quickly with a whisk, and pour the mixture into the roux. Continue stirring with a whisk over low heat until the sauce is very thick and smooth.
3. Season the sauce with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Remove it from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the chopped fresh dill weed and put the sauce aside.
4. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium-sized skillet and add the chopped onions and shallots to it. Sauté them until the onions are golden, then add the chopped mushrooms and salt and pepper. Pour the reserved liquid from the mushrooms through a filter or through muslin to remove the grit and add 1 cup of it to the mushroom mixture. Cook this mixture, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed or evaporated. Add the hot mushrooms to the white sauce, mixing it thoroughly.
5. Prepare a 2-quart soufflé dish by buttering it and sprinkling the Parmesan cheese over the butter. Tie a tall, buttered, stiff-paper or aluminum-foil collar around the dish.
6. In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a little salt and a pinch of cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
8. Add a few spoonfuls of the stiffly beaten whites to the sauce and blend them in gently. Now pour the sauce over the remaining egg whites and fold them in, using a spatula or a large spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, place it carefully in the middle of the oven, and lower the temperature to 375 degrees.
9. Bake the soufflé for about 35 to 40 minutes, and serve it immediately with Hollandaise Sauce or Spicy Mousseline Sauce.
