Easy Eats: Cheats Ricotta & Leek Soufflé

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 190ºC regular bake.
2. Trim the base and green tips off of the leeks and slice down the middle lengthways. Give them a good wash to remove any sand and dirt.
3. Dice the leeks and place in a pan with the butter. Remove the thyme leaves from the stalks and add the leaves to the pan. Fry over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down a bit.
4. While the leeks are frying, separate the egg yolks and whites into two large bowls. Add the ricotta, parmesan and parsley to the bowl with the egg yolks and season with salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix together and set aside.
5. Either with a whisk, a hand beater or electric beater, beat the egg whites for a few minutes until stiff peaks form.
6. Fold a spoonful of the egg whites through the ricotta mixture to loosen it then add the remaining egg whites and fold through - try not to overmix, you want to avoid deflating the egg whites.
7. Add the fried leeks to the bowl and fold through.
8. Transfer to an oven dish roughly 1.5L in capacity and spread out evenly. Top with a little extra finely grated parmesan and bake for 30-33 minutes. It should be golden and dry on top but have a slight wobble when given a little shake.
9. Tip: The cook time will vary depending on the diameter of your dish, mine is 29x17x6cm.