1007—Mousse Chaude d’Éperlans à la Royale

Take a Charlotte-mould, of a size in proportion to the number of people to be served, and butter its bottom and sides. Cover the bottom of the mould with a round piece of buttered kitchen paper, and do the same on the sides.

Prepare the required quantity of smelts’ fillets; slightly flatten them in order to break their fibres, and trim them all to the same length and width.

Then garnish the bottom of the mould with the fillets of smelt, placing them so that their skin-sides are against the mould. Between each of the fillets set a small strip of truffle, one quarter of the width of the former.

Garnish the sides in the same way, putting a strip of truffle between each; but take care to place the fillets aslant instead of upright. Having thus lined the mould with fillets of smelt and truffle, cover the whole with a layer of mousseline forcemeat, one-half inch thick.

Now fill the mould in the following way:—On the layer of forcemeat covering the fillets at the bottom of the mould set as many slices of truffle as will cover it; spread another layer of forcemeat on the truffle, and over that lay, alternately, a sufficient quantity of fillets of smelt and anchovy. Follow with a fresh layer of forcemeat, slices of truffle, &c., until the mould is full, and finish with a layer of forcemeat.

Poach the mousse (covered) in a moderate oven, and allow fifty minutes for one prepared in a quart-mould. It is very easy, however, to tell when the mousse is done, by simply thrusting a small knife into it; if the blade of the knife withdraws quite clean, the mousse is cooked.

As soon as it is ready, turn the mould upside-down on a dish, and raise it a little in order to allow the liquid, which always accumulates in more or less large quantities, to drain away. Soak up this liquid; gently draw off the mould; take off the paper, and remove the froth which may have formed on the fillets by means of a wet brush.

Lay a fine, grooved mushroom on the top of the mousse; surround it with mousseline sauce (No. 92, Mousseline Sauce), finished with crayfish butter, and send a sauceboat of the same mousseline sauce to the table with the dish.

N.B.—This mousse may also be prepared with fillets of sole, of salmon, or of trout, &c.