Mousse of Wild Mushrooms with Langoustines and American Caviar ▶
A pretty mushroom mousse timbale centers the plate, surrounded by a pinwheel of langoustine tails napped in rose champagne butter sauce. Golden bits of caviar and a slice of truffle garnish the dish. Using rose champagne instead of white adds a little color to the sauce. Substitute large prawns for the langoustine tails if you wish. You may also use other mushrooms, such as chanterelles or morels, in the mousse.
Ingredients
- Mushroom Mousse
- Garlic - 1/2 clove, finely chopped
- Shallot - 1, finely chopped
- Olive Oil - 1-1/2 ounces
- Cepes Mushrooms - 8 ounces, chopped
- Shiitake Mushrooms - 8 ounces, stemmed and chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Madeira - 2 tablespoons, dry
- Ruby Port - 2 tablespoons
- Eggs - 2
- Creme Fraiche - 4 tablespoons (alt. sour cream)
- Dash of nutmeg
- Sage - 1 teaspoon
- Rose Champagne Butter
- Shallots - 2, finely diced
- Unsalted Butter - 1/2 pound (2 sticks), cut into small pieces
- Rose Champagne - 2 cups
- Juice of 1/2 orange
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Seedless Red Grapes - 10, stemmed and halved
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 tablespoon
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Langoustines - 2 pounds, whole, fresh, (about 20; alt. prawns)
- Dash of olive oil
- Salmon Roe - 2 ounces, small
- Truffle - 1, shaved
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the mousse: Preheat the oven to 325 F. In a large saute pan, briefly saute the garlic and shallots in the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the Madeira, avert your face, and ignite; shake the pan as the alcohol flames and burns off. Add the ruby port, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until reduced to almost dry. Let the mixture cool, then puree in a food processor with the eggs, creme fraiche, nutmeg, and sage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Butter four 3- to 4-inch timbale molds. Fill the molds two-thirds full with mousse.Tamp on the counter to remove air bubbles. Put the molds in a larger pan partially filled with hot water and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes, until set. Remove the pan from the oven. Set the molds aside to cool.
To prepare the butter sauce: Saute the shallots in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the rose champagne, orange juice, lemon juice, and grapes. Cook over medium heat until reduced to a syrupy consistence, then add the cream. Bit by bit, add the remaining butter, shaking the pan constantly to incorporate as the butter melts. Take the pan off the heat occasionally to control the temperature; if yellow streaks of butter appear, quickly swirl in several pieces of butter off the heat until the sauce combines again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm over warm water.
To serve: Twist the tails from the langoustines. Peel and devein the tails. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute gently on both sides in olive oil until cooked through; do not brown. Unmold the baked mousses and place one in the center of each individual serving plate. Place 5 langoustine tails around each mold, pinwheel fashion. Strain the butter sauce and spoon it over the tails. Put small spoonfuls of roe between each langoustine tail. Top each mousse with a slice of truffle.
