Saveur

View Gallery Photo: Ben Fink

MAKES 32

Gougères (cheese puffs)—a traditional hors d'oeuvre served at French wine tastings—are enlivened here with a Southern twist.

FOR THE PUFFS:
8 tbsp. butter
1 1⁄2 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. dry mustard

FOR THE FILLING:
1⁄2 lb. boiled ham, finely chopped
1 cup raisins, finely chopped
2 shallots, peeled and minced
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
1⁄3 cup cream cheese
1 tbsp. curry powder

1. For the puffs: Preheat oven to 350°. Put butter, salt, and 1 cup water into a medium pot and heat over medium heat until water boils and butter melts. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough is thick and pulls away from side of pot, 1 1⁄2–2 minutes. Remove pot from heat.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat in eggs, 1 at a time, on medium speed, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add dijon and dry mustards and beat well.

3. Spoon 32 walnut-size mounds of dough onto parchment paper–lined baking sheets, about 1" apart. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

4. For the filling: Combine ham, raisins, shallots, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and curry powder in a bowl, then put into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round 1" tip.

5. Make an incision in side of each puff and pipe filling into each. Serve at room temperature.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #71