leek, ham, and pecorino souffles for let's lunch

This month I finally bit the bullet and signed up for a CSA-style organic fruit and veggie delivery. When I shared my excitement on twitter, I received a warning: You will receive leeks. Lots and lots of leeks.

Leeks? Really? I hadn't cooked with leeks a whole lot but thought, hey, they look like over-sized scallions. In fact leeks belong to the same family as onions. But unlike onions which grow in a bulb formation, leeks grow in long bundled tubes. I could handle em. On delivery day, I raced home excited to see my loot. I unloaded my box and discovered a few apples, lettuce, chard, cabbage, a pack of moldy strawberries (ugh), and... as predicted... leeks.

I let them sit on the kitchen table while I considered what to do with them. In the end I decided on the perfect brunch dish: a leek, ham, and cheese souffle. The recipe is simple to make. The most difficult part is recognizing when the egg whites are whipped enough. My rule of thumb is to submerge the whisk in the egg whites and pull it back out again. When you turn the whisk upright, the peek should retain its shape. If it folds, continue whisking.

I also liked the versatility of the ingredients. If you don't have leeks you could easily swap in two cups of any type of onion. Leeks give the souffle a mild, almost sweet onion taste and hold their shape (and texture) more than onions. But I could see red onions or even shallots being killer too. Same with the cheese. Don't have pecorino? Use gruyere, or asiago, etc...  whatever your favorite cheese is.

These leek, ham, and pecorino souffles have a wonderful flavor and texture. The fragrance of the thyme, the saltiness of the ham, the lightness of the eggs, and the bright almost neon pops of color from the leeks made this the perfect brunch treat... All it needs is a mimosa on the side. Cheers!

This recipe is part of this month’s Let’s Lunch theme of egg-inspired dishes. Before you go, check out my fellow lunchers’ posts below. And if you’d like to join us, go to Twitter and post a message with the hashtag #Letslunch, or post a comment below.

• Cheryl from A Tiger in the Kitchen made Chai Poh Scramble
• Eleanor from Wok Star made at Medley of Eggs
• Emma from Dreaming of Pot's and Pans made Eggs in a Hole
• Denise from Chez Us made Beet Dye & Pink Deviled Eggs
• Felicia from Burnt-Out-Baker made the Perfect Sandwich
• Grace from HapaMama made Scrambled Eggs & Tomatoes
• Joe from Joe Yonan made Kim-Chi Deviled Eggs
• Karen from GeoFooding made Molecular Gastronomy “Eggs”
• Leigh from Leigh Nannini made Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls
• Linda from Free Range Cookies made Home-made Cadbury Eggs (Maple Chocolate Eggs)
• Linda from Spicebox Travels made Taiwanese Tomato Eggs
• Lisa from Monday Morning Cooking Club made Legendary Egg & Onion
• Lucy from A Cook and Her Books made Old-Fashioned Boiled Dressing (& Chicken Salad)
• Nancie from Nancie McDermott made Son-in-law Eggs
• Rashda from Hot Curries and Cold Beer made Bombay Toasts (Spicy French Toasts)
• Vivian from Vivian Pei made Eggs Chaud Froid