“Poor old Valentine’s Day. Nobody loves it. One-for-the-price-of-four red roses have vandalised romance. ‘I’m totally over it, actually,’ says one circumspect friend, as though referring to a dose of the flu or a notorious local playboy whose digits she’s deleted….Yet when it comes to celebrating I do like to lean in strenuously.”
Susie Boyt, in The Financial Times
It’s Valentine’s Day today, so this rosy pink mousse is just the thing.
It’s a simple mousse which marries coral-coloured smoked salmon with scarlet, smoked paprika and pink vermouth. Quickly whizzed together, it’s elegant enough as a starter for a dinner party; but just as happy as a quiet and modest week-day lunch.
If you would like to know more about cooking with gelatin (or, some people spell it, gelatine) follow this link.
This will keep for a couple of days in the fridge.
A simple, smokey, rosy salmon mousse
Ingredients
- 200g/7 oz smoked salmon
- 45 ml/3 tablespoons of pink vermouth
- 1 gelatine leaf
- ½ tsp bitter-sweet Spanish smoked paprika
- 250 ml/1 cup double cream
- juice and zest of a lime
- toast and butter to serve
Instructions
- Soak the gelatin leaf in room temperature water, and leave for about 15 minutes.
- Divide the smoked salmon into pieces and put into a small electric grinder/chopper; or use a stick blender with a tall beaker; or use a blender. Add the cream and the paprika.
- Zest the lime, reserving it, and some very small crescents of slices for garnish, and add the juice to the mixer vessel. If you plan to serve some time later, put the zest and crescent slices in a small dish, add a few drops of water, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate.
- Set a small pan to heat gently with the vermouth in it. As soon as 15 minutes soaking is up for the gelatin, take it out, squeeze it to get rid of the excess water, and add to the vermouth. Stir to dissolve.
- Once dissolved, add to the mixer vessel, and whiz all together.
- Put into small glass dishes, and put in the fridge for a minimum of an hour.
- Serve with hot crusty toast and some good quality butter.