Two weeks ago Carla and I took an amazing vacation with her family to the Outer Banks. I'm not a fisherman, but I loved cooking up all the fresh fish that her dad and brother caught. One day I made a fish dip, which was very loose and spreadable. I went down to the beach where Carla's family was sitting and mentioned they could have the dip as a snack whenever they were ready to come up to the house. Carla's dad asked, "Is the dip like a paste?" He then made a quick hand gesture, like spreading butter on toast.
As small as it was, I kept thinking about that hand movement. The dip I made was very loose and spreadable, but it would be interesting to make a very firm dip, one that was almost sliceable. So then I decided to make a fish mousseline. A mousseline, or mousse, is just a thick custard of
something,
anything, bound with eggs and cream. You can make a fish mousse, a chicken liver mousse, or even a ham mousse. I fell in love with the concept and decided to make it as soon as possible.
Then a storm came in and the fishing was terrible for the next two days. Undeterred, I bought some wild Atlantic salmon, which was actually very reasonably priced. Then it came to me that we were in a rental house, which has a kitchen stocked with two dodgy pans and half a rolling pin. So I ground the salmon through a pasta colander with my hands. And to be honest, I loved it. After that, it was easy. Mix in salt, cream, and three egg yolks. Combine, then pour them into an oven-safe baking dish to cook in a water bath. I didn't have a good dish, so I decided to cook the entire thing in a well-buttered pyrex measuring cup. I even got fancy and made a little dill mousseline as a bottom layer for contrast.
And it almost worked. Aside from the fact that the mousse was too tall, so the weight of the denser salmon mousseline crushed and spread the custard-y dill mousse across the plate. But it was still delicious.
As small as it was, I kept thinking about that hand movement. The dip I made was very loose and spreadable, but it would be interesting to make a very firm dip, one that was almost sliceable. So then I decided to make a fish mousseline. A mousseline, or mousse, is just a thick custard of something, anything, bound with eggs and cream. You can make a fish mousse, a chicken liver mousse, or even a ham mousse. I fell in love with the concept and decided to make it as soon as possible.
Then a storm came in and the fishing was terrible for the next two days. Undeterred, I bought some wild Atlantic salmon, which was actually very reasonably priced. Then it came to me that we were in a rental house, which has a kitchen stocked with two dodgy pans and half a rolling pin. So I ground the salmon through a pasta colander with my hands. And to be honest, I loved it. After that, it was easy. Mix in salt, cream, and three egg yolks. Combine, then pour them into an oven-safe baking dish to cook in a water bath. I didn't have a good dish, so I decided to cook the entire thing in a well-buttered pyrex measuring cup. I even got fancy and made a little dill mousseline as a bottom layer for contrast.
And it almost worked. Aside from the fact that the mousse was too tall, so the weight of the denser salmon mousseline crushed and spread the custard-y dill mousse across the plate. But it was still delicious.
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