Smoked Salmon Mousse with Dijon Sesame Bark no no mo

We frequent a French bistro in the city, Le Select, in fact, it’s probably our favourite restaurant in the city! JT alternates from the menu items, but I like my favourites (French Onion Soup, Steak Tartare) and seldom stray from them. We tend to share an appetizer and the last time we were there, the table next to us could not say enough about the Terrine de Poisson Fumé, an airy terrine of smoked Georgian Bay whitefish served with grilled home-baked Foccacia so we had to have it. It was wonderful. Smooth, creamy, full of smoky flavour, we loved it so much, I had to make something like it for a dinner party. 

This is Le Select’s version, our inspiration.

Smoked Salmon Mousse with Dijon Sesame Bark

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 265 mL mousse

Ingredients for the Salmon Mousse:

• 65 g smoked salmon, roughly chopped
• 100 g cream cheese, cubed
• 2 g anchovy paste
• 2 g tomato paste
• 1 g paprika
• Pinch of smoked paprika
• 100 mL whole milk
• 120 mL water (see notes)
• 2 g agar-agar (see notes)

Directions for the Salmon Mousse:

1. Dissolve agar-agar in the water and slowly bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes or until the agar-agar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, add the salmon, cream cheese, anchovy paste and whole milk to a food processor (choose one that will emulsify the salmon to a smooth, creamy consistency (my Magic Bullet did a great job).
3. Once the agar-agar has cooled somewhat, whisk into the salmon mixture until smooth.
4. Prepare silicon your mould by spraying it lightly with water. Pour the salmon mousse into each mold evenly. Allow to set in the refrigerator.
5. Serve with gourmet crackers or toasted baguette.

Dijon Sesame Bark

Ingredients:

• 20 g sugar
• 5 mL honey
• 5 mL water
• 30 g sesame seeds (black and white)
• 5 g butter
• 5 mL Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Mix the sugar with the honey and the water and cook over medium heat until everything has dissolved. Allow to come to a boil and slightly darken.
• Stir in the sesame seeds and continue to cook until it is about 300° F. Remove from heat and add the butter and Dijon mustard and stir well to incorporate.
• Pour the content onto a Silpat sheet or buttered baking sheet and spread out thinly. You may wish to cover with parchment and roll with a rolling pin.
• Allow to cool, break into smallish bits or shards to sprinkle over the salmon mousse.

Assembly of the Smoke Salmon Mousse Plate:

1. Carefully unmould the salmon mousse and place in the centre of a plate. Sprinkle with the dijon sesame bark (or serve bark in shards as below) and serve with toasted baguette slices or crackers.

This is how I served the mousse for a recent dinner party.

Notes:

• You may use the traditional smoked salmon that is thinly sliced but I used a Wild Pacific Salmon Side we hot smoked on the Big Green Egg. 
• Any smoked fish would work, as long as you can purée it smoothly.
• To replace the agar-agar with gelatine, omit the water. Use one sheet softened in in the mousse liquid, in a saucepan then put on low heat and stir until the gelatine sheet dissolves into the mousse, do not boil. One sheet is good enough for a loose set of 265 mL.

 

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Peach and Coconut Jelly Squares

Our last trip to Europe was a culinary shopping success, but sadly failed miserably in the Fashion area, particularly shoes. My shoe shopping times were constantly thwarted by siesta, and when there wasn’t siesta, I just wasn’t in the mood. I guess it just wasn’t my time. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t shopping, because there was quite a bit of shopping to be had, and I did my fair share, in the culinary field.

I brought back a variety of things that will be revealed in due time but now I shall direct you to this very delicious dessert/snack of peach and coconut jelly squares made with agar-agar. I have been wanting to buy this stuff but I have only ever found flavoured product so when I spotted it at my favourite grocery store in Almeria, I was all over it. Figuring out what to do with it was another story, so many interesting recipes. But what I really needed was a test experiment to see what exactly the texture of jelly that agar-agar creates. You see, we had the most luxurious, smoked fish mousse at our favourite French bistro and I was determined to recreate it. I was fairly certain that it was not made with gelatin because the texture was way to creamy and easily spreadable. It was so silky and smooth spread across some toasted baguette, it was a wonderful textural and taste experience. Making this light dessert showed me the proportions I needed to make a smooth, yet spreadable smoked fish mousse.

This is a recipe modified from this tasty recipe. I used peaches because I had peaches at home (frozen from the previous spring). It’s refreshing and the texture is smooth and creamy but it also has a bit of a gelatinus mouthfeel.

Ingredients:

Peach Layer

• 100 mL grilled peach purée (roughly about 2 peaches peeled and chopped)
• 5 mL lime juice
• 150 mL water
• 2 g 1 agar-agar powder
• 30 g monk fruit crystals 
• 5 mL vanilla

Coconut Layer

• 200 mL cup water
• 1 tsp agar-agar powder
• 45 g monk fruit crystals
• pinch of salt
• 200 mL coconut milk

Directions:

1. Add the water to a saucepan and add the agar-agar, slowly bring to a full boil, and stir until the agar-agar has completely dissolved. Add the monk fruit crystals and stir until dissolved.
2. Add the peach purée and vanilla and stir to combine well. Pour into the mould.
3. For the coconut layer, add the water to a saucepan and add the agar-agar and slowly bring to a full boil and then stir until the agar-agar has dissolved. Add the monk fruit crystals and stir until dissolved, add the salt and coconut milk and stir to combine well.
4. Once the peach layer has set (this happens as it cools, does not need to be refrigerated), carefully pour the coconut layer over it. Both layers should be warm so that they stick together.

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