Twice-baked Goats' Cheese Souffles with Chives

Begin by placing the milk, onion, bay leaf, a good grating of nutmeg, a few whole peppercorns and some salt in a small saucepan.

Slowly bring it up to simmering point, then strain it into a jug and discard the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns. Now rinse and dry the saucepan, place it back on the heat and melt the butter in it. Stir in the flour and cook gently for 1 minute, stirring all the time, to make a smooth, glossy paste. Now add the hot milk little by little, stirring well after each addition. When all the milk is incorporated, let the sauce barely bubble and thicken, then leave it on the lowest possible heat for 2 minutes. Now take the sauce off the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

Beat in first the egg yolks followed by the snipped chives. Mix everything thoroughly together and taste to check the seasoning. Finally fold in three-quarters of the cubed goat's cheese.

Next, the egg whites should go into another clean bowl and be whisked up to the soft peak stage. Then take a heaped tablespoon at a time and fold the egg whites into the cheese-and-egg mixture using cutting and folding movements so as not to lose the air. Now divide the mixture between the buttered ramekins, place them in the roasting tin and pour about ½ inch (1 cm) of boiling water straight from the kettle into the tin.

Place the roasting tin on a high shelf in the oven and bake the soufflés for 15 minutes or until they are set and feel springy in the centre (it is important not to under-cook them at this stage, because on the second cooking they are going to be turned out). Don't worry if they rise up a lot – as they cool they will sink back into the dish. Remove them from the roasting tin straight away, then cool and chill in the fridge until needed (they can also be frozen at this stage).

To serve the soufflés, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

Butter a solid baking sheet, then slide the point of a small knife round each soufflé, turn it out on to the palm of your hand and place it the right way up on the baking sheet, keeping it well apart from its neighbours. Sprinkle the remaining goats' cheese on top of each one, then pop them into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they're puffy, well-risen and golden brown.

Using a fish slice, slide each soufflé on to a hot serving plate and serve straight away with some freshly grated Parmesan.