Smoked Salmon Mousse in Mold

Those of you that visit An Eat'n Man regular like may have noticed we favor a retro sort of theme here in a lot of the artwork featured on the blog.  Well, I'm also a fan of old school, retro food dishes, and like to feature some of those from time to time.

Well, nothing says retro like a molded, savory gelatin dish.

Such things were all the rage back in the 50s and 60s, and they sort of freak people out a little today

Anyhoo, this salmon recipe I'm offering may look like it deserves to be condemned to history with these other molded dishes, but I have to tell you, it is surprisingly good.  I'd been telling the wife that I'd wanted to try a molded salmon mousse for a while, so last Christmas she got me a mold as one of my presents.

Doesn't everyone need a fish-shaped mold.  Of course they do.

Anyway, with mold in hand I tried a salmon mousse recipe from one of my old retro cookbooks, enhancing it a bit by adding some smoked salmon, dill and capers, and it came out dyn-O-mite!  great salmon flavor.  I made it again recently for a party, and it was a hit.  This is one retro recipe that deserves a place her in the present.

Ingredients


2 tablespoons butter
1.5 packets unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh dill
3 tablespoons capers
15 oz salmon
4 oz smoked salmon
1 cup heavy cream

Note, I've using some high quality salmon in this recipe, such as the stuff that comes in the foil packets, which is tasty, healthy and bone free.  If you're tempted to save a buck and use the canned stuff, don't.  The canned stuff is much lower quality and is chock full of bones, which you'll either have to pick out or serve to your guests--neither a good option.  Finally you can use fresh salmon if you have it available, but be sure to pick out those pin bones.



Directions

Grease a 6-cup fish mold with butter.

Mince the onion:

Add regular and smoked salmon to a food processor:

And pulse this until the fish is well broken up into small granules.

Soften the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water.

Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.

Add the mayonnaise,

and the lemon juice, onion, hot sauce, Worcestershire, paprika, and salt and mix well.

Fold in the salmon and capers and dill.

Add the whipped cream

and continue folding until everything is well combined.

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Pour the mixture into the prepared mold.

Smooth everything out:

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Delicately invert the mold and onto a platter, tapping it to release the mousse.  You can then garnish the platter with more dill or similar.  I also like to decorate the fish by using some lemon peel slices to make tail fins and a mouth, and use an olive slice for an eye.

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You can also sprinkle a little more smoked paprika on the midsection for a tasty, decorative effect.

Until next time,


Chris