Gougeres

The gougère is a mouthful of cheese choux pastry, round and golden.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients for 6 people

The recipe is a puff pastry (butter, water, salt, flour beaten) with salt, spicy nutmeg and added at the end of preparation,grated cheese. The dough is then molded with a spoon or pastry bag on a greased baking sheet. The cheese puffs are golden brown, then baked in a hot oven for about twenty minutes to make a blond color.

Crispy on the outside and soft inside, the gougères like be eaten warm as a starter with salad. They are also the traditionalappetizer and used for “tastevin” (wine tasting). Some stuff them with mushrooms or snails.

Gougère would be the descendant of a pastry of the seventeenth century, the ramequin of Burgundy, which achieved national prominence in the nineteenth century. The current recipe for gougère dates from the first half of the twentieth century.
Originally crown-shaped puff pastry embellished with cheese, it is now rather a small individual cake. It is also widespread inneighboring Champagne (Aube).

The history of gougère remains uncertain. It would be a Parisian pastry chef, named Henard, established in Flogny-la-Chapelle, who would have amended the ramequin of Paris, very popular in the late eighteenth century, to create gougères. If we ignore the exact origin of the gougèr,we know, like everyone else, that it is the queen of savoury pastry appetizers in Burgundy, and goes perfectly with the wines of the region.

Gougère, the choux pastry, is a highlight of the region. Each chef has his recipe. One can put the grated cheese or pieces in the dough and on the gougère before cooking. Various spicesare used for the flavor. Here we opted for pepper and nutmeg to give a sweet and invigorating taste at the same time.

Ingredients for 6 people

• 250 ml water –
• 75 g unsalted butter –
• 150 g flour –
• 3 eggs –
• 200 g grated cheese –
• a good pinch of salt –
• a few grinds of pepper
• Preparation time: 20 min

1. Preheat oven to 220 ° C. Pour the water into a stainless saucepan with diced butter. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and add all at once the flour and mix well with a spatula. When the dough is smooth, put back on heat.
3. Mix the dough vigorously for drying. Muscles of the forearm and scapula must be painful! Work the dough for a good 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
4. Add the eggs one by one. Take time to incorporate each egg, mixing and rising the dough every time.
5. Add in the dough the grated cheese, salt, pepper and mix well. You can put aside 30 g of cheese to sprinkle on top of thegougère.
6. On a greased baking sheet, place the dough in small balls with a tablespoon. Bake for 25 min. The top of gougère will forma crust. Serve with a green salad or nature and of course, enjoy!