Savoury Mousses

Cold and hot savoury mousses and mousselines are variations on a theme whose main characteristic is a delicate lightness. As long as the flavour is right, they can be a wonderful, sensual pleasure to eat. They are each made with a base of smooth purée which can be made from cooked or raw meats or poultry, fish or vegetables. In hot mousses, these purées are often enriched by egg yolks and lightened with whisked egg white or sometimes cream, too. Hot mousses are usually cooked, but they can also be steamed, or, in the case of quenelles, poached. Cold mousses are purées mixed with mayonnaise, or with a béchamel sauce, lightened with whipped cream and set with either a small amount of gelatine dissolved in stock or ready-made aspic – they should never be rubbery. Whisked egg whites are sometimes added to lighten the mixture further. As in fish and vegetable terrines, the smoothly pureed mixtures of both hot and cold mousses can be dotted with pieces of vegetables, nuts, seafood, fish or simply with chopped fresh herbs.