(Serves eight as a starter)

50 g butter
50 g flour
250 ml milk
4 egg yolks
110 g smoked salmon, finely chopped
1 tbsp snipped fresh dill
Salt and pepper
5 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Butter eight individual soufflé dishes or ramekins and stand them in a baking tin. Melt the butter, add the flour and cook over low heat for two minutes. Blend in the milk and bring to the boil to make a thick sauce. Cook for two minutes more, take the pan off the heat and cool slightly. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, then add the smoked salmon and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Fold two large tablespoons of the whites into the salmon mixture, then tip the salmon mix on to the egg whites and gently fold it all together. Divide the mixture between the prepared dishes, pour about two cm of boiling water into the baking tin and bake for 25 minutes, when the soufflés should be puffy and browned.

Take the tin from the oven, transfer the dishes to a cooling rack and butter a small baking tray (the soufflés will start to sink, but don’t worry).

When cool enough to handle, run a knife round the edge of each dish, tip the soufflé out on to your hand and put it, right side up, on the tray.

They can now be covered with clingfilm and left in the fridge for a few hours or overnight until you are ready to serve them. At which point, preheat the oven to 200°C and reheat the soufflés in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes when they will puff up again.

Garnish with some rolled smoked salmon slices, wedges of lemon and sprigs of dill and serve with brown bread and butter.