TASTE
Fill crescent roll souffle cups with goodies
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By Elaine Magee
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Q. Every time I go to this bakery-type restaurant, I am dying to try their souffle. I know it is way too rich and would cause me discomfort if I ate one, but they look so darn good. It looks like they line a large muffin cup with puff pastry and fill it with eggs, bacon and cheese. Please make over this dish for me — I'm begging you!
A. No need to beg. After reading the description, I was halfway to the store to get the ingredients. When I hear the word "souffle," I immediately think whipped egg whites, so that's how I started. I added a couple of the higher omega-3 egg yolks, some fat-free half-and-half to help cream up the yolks, reduced-fat sharp cheddar, and green onions for flavor and color. I used lower-fat turkey bacon, and because I wanted to keep the turkey bacon bits crispy (they tend to soften in moist mixtures), I added them as garnish after baking the souffle cups.
Instead of using puff pastry, which is too rich for me as well, I used reduced-fat crescent roll dough. Whether warm or at room temperature, these souffle cups work great any time of day. Of course, even with all my lightening, these still end up being pretty high in fat and saturated fat, but they are much improved with 40 percent fewer calories and almost two-thirds less fat.
To trim additional calories and fat per serving, just use one crescent roll to shape each souffle cup crust (you will have two leftover from the 8-ounce container). This will take off 30 calories and 1.5 grams fat per serving.
The original recipe probably contains around 360 calories, 26 grams fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat and 96 milligrams cholesterol per serving.
BACON & GREEN ONION BAKED EGG SOUFFLE
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat the inside of 6 oversize muffin cups with canola cooking spray.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (a few minutes). Place the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl and, with a fork or whisk, stir in fat-free half-and-half until well blended. Stir in the shredded cheese, green onions, and black pepper. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.
Unroll the crescent roll dough and set one of the triangles into each prepared muffin cup, creating a crust that comes about an inch up the sides. Trim off the longest end of the triangle and press it down into the muffin cup (to fill the space where the pan is showing at the bottom). Cut the last two crescents into three equal-size pieces and add one piece to complete each souffle cup crust. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the egg souffle mixture into each dough-lined cup (this should use up all of the egg mixture).
Add a sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg over the top of each and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Once they come out of the oven, sprinkle turkey bacon bits over the top and serve warm or cold.
Makes 6 servings (each cup about 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches high).
