Soufflés for me conjure up memories of watching The Good Life on television when I was growing up. Margot would waft on in, in floating chiffon, hair immaculately coiffed, fully made-up, clutching the perfect soufflé that had risen splendidly as it was told to. The irony is that images like this strike fear and loathing into the heart of all but the most accomplished cook: soufflés are, by repute, hard to make, never rise and the eggs never do as they are told. Believing this, no one in their right mind would ever dare to make one, much less when entertaining.

Fiddlesticks, I say; the only mystery in soufflé-making is getting the eggs to behave. The first easy trick is to buy free-range or organic, which generally perform beautifully in recipes, whether a custard, a mayonnaise or a soufflé. If you have been let down before it is possibly because the eggs were mass-produced or not fresh.

An easy way to test freshness is to slip your eggs into a deep bowl of water. If they sink they are fresh. If they half-float use them for cooking and if they float completely, chuck 'em out.

The next trick is to whisk the whites, preferably at room temperature, in a spotlessly clean bowl. Any hint of grit, grease or egg yolk will play havoc with the whites. After that all you need is a simple béchamel sauce - a delicious liaison of butter, flour, milk, nutmeg and egg yolks; some Gruyère or Gouda cheese; a little mustard and, in the case of this summer recipe, several bulbs of new season's garlic. The garlic is in season now; I've just found some in my farmers' market in West London. Still wet, or green as it is also known, it has none of the bitter taste that garlic has in January when it has been around too long. Instead it has a gentle, sweet flavour that makes it addictive. When roasted, the bulbs collapse and produce a soft, oozing purée, which melts into the soufflé, giving it a gloriously fragrant flavour. There is nothing challenging here, just a few, simple steps and good, simple flavours. So give it a shot and delight your friends.

THE RECIPE

Cooking time: 1 hour; preparation time: 45 minutes; feeds 8

4 heads of new season's garlic; remove a couple of cloves and bash them once (use normal garlic if you can't get fresh)

3 sprigs thyme

1 tbsp olive oil

600ml milk

1 onion, quartered

2 bay leaves

2 good grates of nutmeg

10 peppercorns

100g butter

1 tbsp grated Parmesan mixed with ...

100g Gruyère or Gouda

1 tbsp breadcrumbs

5 tbsp flour

1 tsp Dijon mustard

8 fresh eggs (4 eggs, plus 4 egg whites)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/360F. Cut the tops off the heads of garlic, place in tinfoil with a sprig of thyme and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap in the foil. Roast for 45-50 minutes until tender. Leave to cool. (NB If you are using ordinary garlic, roast it for only 20-25 minutes.)

Put the 2 cloves of bashed garlic in a pan with the onion, herbs, spices and milk and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat, leave to infuse for 20 minutes and then strain. In the meantime butter a 30cm oval dish or a 24cm round dish liberally and sprinkle with the Parmesan crumbs. Grate the other cheese and separate the eggs (putting aside 4 egg yolks for breakfast!). Leave aside while you melt the butter in a saucepan with the flour. Heat gently until the flour has turned golden (a few minutes) and then gradually beat in the milk with a whisk or a wooden spoon, letting the béchamel cook between each addition of milk to cook out the raw flour taste. Adding the milk gradually will allow you to beat out any small lumps in the sauce, giving you a smooth, creamy bechamel.

Turn off the heat, season well with salt and pepper, allow to cool slightly, then beat in the mustard, Gruyère and the egg yolks, one by one. Squeeze out the soft purée from the heads of garlic, mash it with a fork to make it smooth and stir it into the béchamel with the cheese and more nutmeg if needed. Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold a large metal spoonful into the béchamel to loosen it. Then gradually fold the loosened béchamel into the egg whites and pour the soufflé into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with a little extra cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with fresh bread and a salad (we had one of shaved fennel, baby tomatoes and artichoke hearts, but a simple green salad would be lovely, too).

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