Salmon mousse

Ok, I borrowed (and modified) this recipe from Food Network's Paul Deen. Many of the mousse recipes I found called for whipped cream. Hers just called for straight heavy cream and I was feeling lazy. Many of the recipes called for canned salmon, certainly an option. But a nicely poached piece of fresh salmon is so much better. I was not too lazy to poach. I was surprised to find that the pin bones you usually find in salmon filet had been removed. How conVENient!

Paula called for dried dill weed. I had fresh on hand an saw no reason not to use it. After the fact I was glad to have reduced the amount of cream by 1/3. The mixture was quite loose.

I didn't have a non-reactive mold, so I lined an aluminum bunt pan with plastic wrap.

The idea of using some scrambled egg was the result of our having 3 egg whites on hand after Peter made an oreo cheesecake this morning.

Salmon mousse

1 lb. salmon filet, poached in broth, skinned and deboned
chicken broth
1 1/2 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup heavy cream
juice of 1 lemon
fresh dill, to taste
watercress

You need enough broth to cover the salmon. Bring the broth to a boil, drop in the salmon, lower the heat to a simmer. The salmon will take 10-12 minutes depending on thickness. Cut a slit in it to see when it's done. Remove from the broth, which you should discard. Allow the salmon to cool completely, then flake it and put it into your food processor.

Put the gelatine in the cold water and stir it well. Add the hot water and stir until it is thoroughly dissolved.

Put everything except the watercress into a food processor. I probably should have done this in two batches as I had a slight bit of leakage. But, no harm done. Process until thoroughly pureed.

Pour into a non-reactive mold, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Serve on toast with a bit of scrambled egg if you like. garnish with sprigs of watercress.