Gougeres share the aroma of welcome
The title of this column has always been Taste and See, but for a moment let’s consider another of our five senses that is paramount to cooking and making others feel welcome. Let’s focus on our sense of smell.
Strangely enough, the importance of this sense has come to the forefront during the pandemic as many found themselves unable to smell anything. Our son correctly self-diagnosed Covid when he couldn’t detect any citrusy freshness from the lime he was slicing. It looked beautiful, but its fragrance said nothing to his olfactory nerve, which said nothing to his brain. If you’ve experienced this, you understand how taste and smell are closely intertwined, and how precious they are. Without them we lose our ability to cook by taste. Plus we lose pleasure in eating.
What we perceive through our sense of smell is evocative and powerful. It’s been said that a whiff of a particular place or food from childhood unlocks memories more vividly than anything else. How true! The fragrant steam of simmering strawberries sends me back to my grandparents’ house by Lake Michigan where we loved to pick berries and make jam with grandma. Similarly, the fragrance of brewing coffee brings to mind the warmth and welcome of my childhood church, and one sniff of sautéed mushrooms reminds me of dinner parties and puts me in a party mood.
What food fragrance creates a welcoming party atmosphere for you? Perhaps you think of hickory smoke swirling up from a barbeque. Or maybe it’s chicken stock gently simmering on the stove on a cold winter day. How about the chocolatey fragrance of brownies baking, or the spicy aroma of glögg heralding Christmas joy? I have a hunch each of us would define the “fragrance of welcome” in a different way, but we all know the allure of delicious aromas that draw us in, promising tasty food and lively conversation around the table. We are swayed by what meets our nose.
Few delicacies delight the sense of smell, and say “Welcome!” as intensely as gougères (goo-ZHERS). Imagine a cheesy profiterole; a diminutive savory cream puff, with a crispy golden exterior and a moist tender interior that cocoons a pocket of luscious steam. Gougères are positively sublime to eat, but perhaps even more remarkable is the intoxicating fragrance that pours from the oven when they bake. That’s why gougères make wonderfully inviting appetizers. They welcome guests with their heady aroma.
I met my first batch of gougères while working with a fabulous chef at a culinary school in Kansas City. While I plated pats of butter for a dinner, I watched Nancy skillfully wield her pastry bag forming a couple hundred gougères. Once the pastries were piped into neat rows on pans, she set them aside to be baked forty minutes before our guests would arrive. About half way through their baking time, the magic happened. As the gougères puffed and browned, the entire dining room filled with such a mouthwatering fragrance that the servers setting tables stopped and exclaimed out loud, “What smells so delicious?” Ever since that memorable evening, gougères have been our favorite way to welcome guests to our house. We enjoy them over and over and never tire of their sumptuous goodness.
When you wish to roll out the red carpet to those you’ve invited over, remember; appeal to your guests’ sense of smell. They’ll never forget the wonderful aroma of a warm and hospitable welcome.
Gougères
½ cup whole milk
½ cup water
4 oz. unsalted butter, cut into T. sized pieces
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. white pepper
a little freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 cup grated gruyere cheese, plus 1/3 cup cheese for sprinkling
Kosher salt for sprinkling
1 egg, whipped with a fork for egg wash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Measure flour and set next to cook-top. Break four eggs into a small bowl and place next to stand mixer.
In a medium saucepan combine: milk, water, butter, and salt and bring to a full boil. With the heat on low, add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a stiff dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cook stirring continually for a minute. Transfer dough to the bowl of stand mixer and beat with whip attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the dough smooths out between additions. Scrape bowl occasionally. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat again until well incorporated and the dough is shiny.
Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a half inch tip. Pipe mounds slightly larger than a walnut onto the parchment lined baking sheets. Or use a 1 T. scoop to scoop dough onto baking sheet. Leave about one inch between pastries. Brush each gougère with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt. Divide 1/3 cup of grated gruyere cheese over pastries.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until gougères are puffed and deep golden brown. At this point your house will become redolent with pastry and cheese. Breathe deeply knowing it will extend the best welcome ever.
Yield: Approximately 40 gougères
PHOTO: Bonnie Sparrman
Cook’s notes: The pâte à choux, or cheesy cream puff dough for gougères may be made ahead and frozen. Simply pipe or scoop the mounds onto a baking sheet, brush with egg wash, Kosher salt, and grated cheese. Freeze. Once frozen, slip gougères into an airtight container and store in freezer. Bake from frozen adding about 5-7 minutes to the baking time. Or gougères may be made up to the point of baking early in the day you wish to serve them. Keep refrigerated and bake just before your guests arrive. Leftover gourgères respond well to a five minute warm-up in a 350-degree oven.
Also, in Burgundy, France, the original home of gougères, they are most notably paired with a crisp dry white wine or a smooth red pinot noir from the Côte de Beaune region.