Smoked salmon and avocado mousses

This dish of two mousses that are combined is light and delicate.  The flavour of the smoked salmon and the avocado complement each other perfectly.  It looks attractive with the two colours of the mousses and the decorations.  It makes an excellent starter for a dinner party.

Preparation Time: 1 Hr

Total Time: 4 Hrs

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

110 gms          Smoked salmon       

1 dash             Tabasco    

1                    Avocado    

4                    Egg whites

6 tbs               Cream  - double      

6 leaves           Gelatine    

                     Lemon juice            

                     Salt          

                     Pepper  - white, freshly ground 

To garnish

                     Smoked salmon  - strips         

                     Avocado  - wedges   

                     Dill  - sprigs

Method

Line the bases of four ramekins with greaseproof paper and oil the insides of the ramekins and the paper.

Roughly chop the smoked salmon and then blender until smooth with half the cream.  Transfer to a bowl.  Put half the gelatine in a saucepan with enough water to wet it (about 2 tbs), leave it for 5 minutes for the gelatine to soften, warm it so the gelatine is dissolved and cool until syrupy.

Whisk two egg whites until stiff.

Stir the cooled gelatine into salmon and then fold in the egg whites.  Season with the salt and pepper.

Then spoon into the bottoms of the prepared ramekins to fill up to halfway.  Then chill them.

For the avocado mousse, peel avocado and remove the stone.  Roughly chop and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Purée in a processor with the other half of the cream until smooth.  Then transfer to a bowl.  Prepare remaining gelatine in the same way as before and mix with the avocado purée.  Whisk remaining egg whites until stiff and fold them into the purée.  Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Tabasco.  Spoon on top of set layer of salmon mousse.

Chill again until set.  Turn out on to individual plates and decorate with smoked salmon strips, tiny wedges of avocado and sprigs of dill.

Wine recommendations

A light aromatic white wine.

Conventional

     Sancerre

Interesting

     Mâcon

     Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur lie

     Pinot Gris

Adventurous

     Manzanilla Sherry