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Mousse Chaude d’Éperlans à la Royale
Created by Chef Juliette
Silvery smelt and black truffle wrap a tender hot mousseline, gently poached in its mould and turned out beneath coral-ivory sauce, a grand dish made workable for one careful cook at home.
Mousse Chaude d’Éperlans à la Royale (hot moulded smelt mousse with truffle) teaches the discipline behind every fish mousseline, a cold fish-and-cream emulsion: the fish, bowl, blade, egg white, and cream must remain cold until the mould enters the oven. Get that one truth right and the mousse cuts tender and close, not rubbery, while silver skins and black truffle make their own pattern beneath glossy coral-ivory sauce.
The source formula assumed a brigade, one cook flattening and trimming every fillet, another making the forcemeat, and a saucier on staff holding Mousseline Sauce (No. 92), with a stockpot never off the fire and a salamander standing ready elsewhere on the service. This mousse needs neither stock nor salamander. At home, a chilled food processor replaces pounding and repeated sieving, a roasting tin becomes the bain-marie (water bath), and a one-quart charlotte mould produces four generous portions. These are scaffolding changes. The patterned lining, half-inch mousseline shell, layers of smelt, anchovy, and truffle, and the covered gentle poach are the dish. They stay.
Your only nervous moment is the emulsion. Add the cream gradually and stop if the mixture loses its chill or turns oily; chill it over ice, then continue with the remaining cream. Ça se rattrape. Before you touch a pan, clear refrigerator space and chill the processor bowl. The cold emulsion decides this dish.
Ingredients
skin-on smelt fillets
Quantity
1 lb 5 oz (600 g)
From about 20 to 24 medium smelts, pin bones removed and fish kept very cold
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
Very soft and divided
whole black truffles
Quantity
2 small truffles (about 1½ oz / 40 g)
Drained if preserved, one cut into narrow strips and one thinly sliced
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| skin-on smelt filletsFrom about 20 to 24 medium smelts, pin bones removed and fish kept very cold | 1 lb 5 oz (600 g) |
| unsalted butterVery soft and divided | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| whole black trufflesDrained if preserved, one cut into narrow strips and one thinly sliced | 2 small truffles (about 1½ oz / 40 g) |
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