What is mousse? The French term mousse [pronounced MOOS] means "froth" or "foam". The rich, airy dishes can sweet or savory and hot or cold. Like the chocolate or fruit mousse on that dessert tray, cold dessert mousses derive their fluffiness from the addition of whipped cream or beaten egg whites and they're often fortified with gelatin.
Both Sweet and Savory Mousses
Savory mousses like the recipe below may be an eye-opener to some. Mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese or even vegetables. Hot mousses usually get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites. They're generally baked in a bain marie (water bath) to prevent the mixture from curdling.
One of the serving options for the recipe below exemplifies the way in which savory mousse is often squeezed through a piping bag onto some kind of platform, (vegetable slices, toast points, pastry shells, etc.), and used as a hors d’oeuvre.
Savory Smoked Salmon Mousse Recipe
Proof again that French food can be easy, five minutes is all the prep time this appetizer needs. The recipe includes two serving options, either simply in a bowl for spreading on toast or crackers, or for a more elegant service, piped onto toast points or cucumber slices.
Yield: about 4 cups
You will need a food processor or blender
Ingredients:
- ½ pound smoked salmon
- ½ pound cream cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill
- Juice of half a lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Tabasco (or other bottled hot sauce) to taste
- 2 Tbsp lemon-flavored vodka
Method:
- Purée all ingredients together until light and smooth in the food processor or blender.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into a serving dish (or a piping bag for serving option 2). Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
Serving Option 1:
Serve the cool (not cold) bowl of mouse for spreading on buttered toast or crackers along with small bowls of slivered red onions and drained capers.
Serving Option 2:
Use a pastry piping bag (or a zip lock bag with one corner cut off) to pipe a circle of mousse onto toast points (directions below) or cucumber slices.
To make toast points:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Trim the crusts off slices of white bread. Cut the slices along the diagonals to form 4 triangles. Brush one side with the butter and set the triangles on a baking sheet.
- Toast the triangles until golden brown and crisp on top, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden, about 1 minute longer. Remove from oven and cool the "points" on a baking rack.
Go here for more history of the development of mousse as well as some preparation tips.
Go here for recipes for Chocolate Mousse and Roquefort Cucumber Mousse.
Larry Ervin - Foodie, self-taught cook and cookbook addict, I never met a recipe I didn't want to twist, simplify, add or switch out ingredients.
Join the Conversation