Massimo Bottura's no-waste Christmas recipe: here is his panettone soufflé

This is one of the recipes that sums up the mission of Bottura and his wife Lara Gilmore cultural project, Food for Soul: to shine light on the invisible potential of people, places and food.

Credits cover: Masterclass

Ingredients

• 250 gr leftover panettone
• 7 grams corn starch
• 7 whole eggs, divided
• 150 gr granulated sugar
• 50 gr white chocolate
• 25 grams unsalted butter
• Salt
• Vanilla salt
• Toasted hazelnut, chopped

Methods

Dry out the panettone. Heat the oven to 100°. Tear the panettone into bite-size pieces, and spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the panettone until is dried and brittle, about one hour. Remove it from the oven, and let cool completely; increase the oven temperature to 180°. Transfer the dried panettone to a blender, and process until finely ground. Stir the corn starch into the breadcrumbs.

Whip the egg yolks. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, add the egg yolks and begin mixing on low speed. Slowly pour in 75 gr of sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip until the yolk mixture triples in volume.

Melt the chocolate. Meanwhile, combine the white chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until melted. When the yolk mixture is ready, reduce the mixer speed to low, and slowly pour in the white chocolate mixture until smooth. Using a spatula, transfer the yolk mixture to a large bowl, and stir in the panettone breadcrumbs.

Whip the egg whites into soft peaks. In a bowl add the egg whites and a pinch of salt, and begin mixing on medium speed. While the mixer is running, slowly pour in the remaining 75 gr of sugar, and continue whipping until the whites form soft peaks.

Combine the whites with the yolk mixture. Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the yolk-breadcrumb mixture, and stir vigorously to combine. Add the remaining whites and fold gently until completely smooth and the color is homogeneous.

Divide the mixture into ramekins and bake. Divide the soufflé mixture among the ramekins, then immediately bake until puffed and risen, 9-10 min.

Serve. While hot, transfer the ramekins to serving plates, and sprinkle each with a pinch of vanilla salt. Arrange some strands of candied orange peel over the top, and then sprinkle with a pinch of chopped hazelnuts to serve.