Cheddar-Thyme Gougeres with Bacon, Arugula, and Tomato

The first time I had gougeres, the cooking bee (our monthly cooking group made up of five friends) made them for a party a couple of years ago. They were traditional gougeres: little cheese puffs with gruyere and parmgiano, and we served them with a tomato-basil sauce at the suggestion of my friend Marion, who is french and knows all about french food. They were the first item gone at the party. Hmmm... maybe that was because we did not make quite enough of them for such a big group, and we all hovered over the bowl until they disappeared.? Since we served them at our party, I have seen them in all shapes and forms. At Tartine in San Francisco, the gougere was a huge round of thyme-studded cheesy goodness. The Zuni Cafe cookbook, one of my favorite cookbooks and where you will find the most delicious roast chicken recipe, offers a recipe for BLT's served on gougeres, and Mollie Fontaine Lounge serves up its own version of gougere BLT's with avocado and pickled red onion.

My grandmother had a little family gathering this weekend, and she asked me to take care of the food. The gathering was at 4PM, so I did not want to make anything too heavy. I decided on eggplant dip with pita chips, spiced pecans, and these gougere BLT's, as my grandmother loves BLT's. I took a cue from Mollie Fontaine and spread the gougeres with a sesame mayo, and, had I been more prepared, I would have added pickled red onions for a nice, tart contrast to the rich bacon.

Gougeres are made the same way as cream puffs, eclairs, and even those little pastry swans you used to see at bakeries. The dough is caled pate a choux (choux pastry). To make sweet instead of savory puffs, omit the pepper and thyme and cheese and proceed as above. You may need to cook the sweet puffs for about five extra minutes. For profiteroles, split them open and stuff with ice cream and top with chocolate sauce!

Cheddar-thyme gougeres with bacon, arugula, and tomato
makes about 30 gougeres

For the gougeres:

1 c milk
1 stick unsalted butter
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 t thyme
1 c flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 c parmigiano, grated
1 egg beaten with a little water, about 1 T

Preheat the oven to 425. Grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment. In a saucepan, melt the butter, milk, salt, thyme, and pepper. Heat over medium until scalded, or almost boiling. Add all of the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined. Cook the mixture for about two more minutes, until the flour starts to coat the pan. Turn the mixture into the food processor and add the eggs and cheese, and then mix until the dough is smooth.

Put the dough into a ziplock bag and cut a tiny little hole in a bottom corner, without sealing the bag. If you have a pastry bag, you can use that just as well. Don't put too much pressure on the bag when you are squeezing it, as it will burst if you do and then you will have to spoon out the gougeres onto the pan. Fine, but a lot messier than the bag. Pipe out little mounds of dough onto the prepared pans as big or small as you want them to be. I piped mine out at about 1 inch round and just short of that in height. Dip your finger into water and press down the little pointy tips and reshape any that look like they have strayed from their desired shape. Brush the top of the gougeres with the egg wash (the egg mixed with the water) and sprinkle with a little extra parm and cheddar. Bake for about 15 minutes at 425, until they are golden brown.

For the BLT's:

2 c arugula
2 tomatoes, sliced and each slice quartered
about 8 pieces of bacon, cooked
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 t sesame oil
1/4 t chili powder

Mix together the mayo, chili powder, and sesame oil. Split open the cooled gougeres and spread with the sesame mayo. Break up the bacon and stuff each gougere with bacon, a little arugula, and a little piece of tomato. Add avocado if you like!

Comments

[Molly]

Those look fabulous. I got a recipe from Lee at La Boutique on Evergreen several years ago. Hers has blue cheese and bacon crumbles in the dough. I haven't made them in a while. I may need to pull that recipe back out or just try yours.