Smoked Trout Mousse With Apple Fennel Salad Recipes

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the trout until just blended. Add the cream cheese and cream and pulse the trout until just smooth. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and chives. Set aside.
• Serve a dollop with each corn dill muffin and garnish as desired.

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE WITH APPLE-FENNEL SALAD

Steps:

• For the mousse: By hand, break the trout into flakes, removing any bones. In a food processor, puree the trout, crème fraîche, cream, lemon juice, and horseradish until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chives and several grinds of pepper, then refrigerate until the mixture is firm enough to pipe through a pastry bag, about 30 minutes.
• For the salad: In a small bowl, combine the apple, fennel, chopped fennel fronds, olive oil, vinegar, honey, and a pinch of salt. Toss well.
• If necessary, trim the base of the endive leaves so each leaf is no longer than 3 inches.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip, pipe about 2 teaspoons of mousse onto each endive leaf. Alternatively, use a spoon to place about 2 teaspoons of the mousse on each leaf. Top with a small spoonful of the apple-fennel salad. Garnish each filled leaf with a small fennel frond.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay or another creamy, barrel-aged Chardonnay.

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE

Steps:

• Remove skin and all bones from the trout. Break the fish into chunks.
• Place trout in the work bowl of a food processor along with the butter and lemon juice and process until it forms a fine, smooth puree. The trout can also be mashed by hand and the butter worked in with a fork, but this is more tedious.
• Add the sour cream and process briefly to blend.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a crock or a bowl and serve with toast, bread or crackers or spread on triangles of toast or pumpernickel bread to form individual canapes and top each with a little caviar or parsely as garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE

Steps:

• Lightly oil a straight-sided 2-cup mold or soufflé dish.
• In a food processor purée trout with 1/4 cup cream, butter, lemon juice, and salt until smooth and transfer to a bowl. In a very small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over water and let soften 1 minute. Heat mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is dissolved (do not let boil) and cool to room temperature. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat remaining 1/2 cup cream until it just holds stiff peaks and fold into trout purée with gelatin mixture and salt to taste until combined well.
• Spoon half of mousse into mold or soufflé dish and smooth top. Spoon roe evenly over mousse (roe will not cover mousse completely) and sprinkle evenly with dill. Spoon remaining mousse over dill, spreading mousse evenly (being careful not to disturb roe and dill), and gently smooth surface. Chill mousse, covered, at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
• To unmold mousse, run a thin knife around edge of mold or soufflé dish and dip bottom into a bowl of hot water 5 seconds. Invert mousse onto a plate and cut into 8 wedges (reserve 2 wedges for another use). Put sesame seeds in a shallow bowl and carefully dip outside edge of each wedge in seeds to coat.