Petites Mousses de Homard

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 straight-sided cassolettes or ramekins, 4 fluid ounces (120 ml) each
• •Small saucepan
• •Mini food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve and damp cheesecloth
• •Medium mixing bowl and whisk
• •Large bowl for an ice-water bath
• •Food-safe parchment, scissors, and tape or small clips
• •Small palette knife or spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the lobster fond

   Remove the lobster meat from its shells, weigh out 7 ounces (200 g), and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Cut the shells into several pieces. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the shells, and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes, until they look glossy and their fragrance deepens. Add the shallot and thyme and cook for 1 minute without browning. Pour in the wine, scrape the pan clean, and reduce it by half. Add the water and hold the fond at a bare simmer for 12 minutes. Strain it through a fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth, pressing the shells only lightly, then skim away visible fat. Reduce the strained fond to exactly 3/4 cup (180 ml). If it falls short, add a little water; if there is too much, keep reducing.

   A hard boil and heavy pressing make a cloudy jelly. Keep the fond at a tremble and let careful straining do the work.
2. 2

   Set the jelly bases

   Stand four 4-fluid-ounce (120 ml) cassolettes on a level tray. Sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon of the gelatin over 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of cold fond and leave it for 5 minutes to bloom. Heat another 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of fond until hot but not boiling, remove it from the heat, and stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely clear. If grains remain, return the pan to the lowest heat and stir gently, never letting it boil. Ça se rattrape. Pour 1 tablespoon (15 ml) into each cassolette, following the source entry's smaller measure for a vessel of this size. Refrigerate for 25 to 30 minutes, until the gelée (savory jelly) is firm.

   The tray must be level. A tilted layer of gelée will announce itself when the first spoon reaches the bottom.
3. 3

   Fit the collars

   Once the gelée is set, cut four strips of food-safe parchment about 2 inches (5 cm) wide and long enough to overlap around each cassolette. Wrap one tightly around each vessel so the paper stands exactly 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the brim. Secure the overlap on the outside with tape or a small clip, keeping the fastening away from the mousse. The collar must sit snugly against the rim or the mixture will escape into the gap.

4. 4

   Purée the lobster

   Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons gelatin over 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of cold fond and leave it for 5 minutes. Warm 1/4 cup (60 ml) of fond, remove it from the heat, and dissolve the bloomed gelatin in it. Keep the final 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fond cold as insurance. Process the lobster meat with the warm gelatin mixture, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, and cayenne until very smooth, then press the purée through a fine sieve into a chilled bowl. Set that bowl over ice water and stir until the purée feels cool, has thickened slightly, and still falls freely from the spoon. If it begins setting around the edge or forms soft lumps, place the bowl over barely warm water and stir only until fluid, then cool it again.

5. 5

   Fold the mousse

   Whip the cold cream to soft peaks that bend over when the whisk is lifted. Stir one-quarter of it into the lobster purée to lighten the base, then fold in the remaining cream in two additions with broad strokes from the bottom of the bowl. Stop as soon as no white streaks remain. If the mixture becomes too firm to fold cleanly, add the reserved cold fond 1 teaspoon at a time; if it looks loose, refrigerate it for 5 minutes and test again. It should hold a soft mound without becoming stiff.

   Soft peaks, not stiff ones. Overwhipped cream gives the mousse a coarse mouthfeel and makes folding far harder than it needs to be.
6. 6

   Fill above the rims

   Spoon a little mousse into each cassolette first, pressing it gently against the sides so no hollow pockets remain. Divide the rest evenly, filling the parchment collars about 3/4 inch (2 cm) above the vessel rims. Smooth the tops level with a small palette knife or the back of a spoon. Give the tray one gentle tap to settle large air pockets, but don't knock out the cream you have just folded so carefully.

7. 7

   Chill and unveil

   Refrigerate the filled cassolettes, collars still in place, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. The mousse is ready when the top feels set yet yields softly under a fingertip. Release each fastening and peel the parchment away slowly. If a collar catches, trace only that spot with the tip of a thin knife warmed in hot water and dried. Each mousse should remain standing above its rim like a little cold soufflé.

8. 8

   Serve cold

   Take the petites mousses from the refrigerator 8 to 10 minutes before serving, just long enough for the lobster flavor to open while the set remains firm. Place each cassolette on a small underplate and offer thin brioche toasts alongside. No decorative flourish is needed; the pale coral mousse standing proudly above its rim is the finish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use straight-sided 4-fluid-ounce (120 ml) cassolettes or ramekins. A flared vessel will still hold the mousse, but it loses the small drum shape the paper collar is meant to reveal.
• •Choose cooked lobster still in its shell. The meat makes the mousse and the shells make its foundation, so one purchase does both jobs. If only picked meat is available, use 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsalted shellfish stock in place of the fond; the method holds, though the lobster perfume will be gentler.
• •Powdered gelatin near 200 Bloom gives a tender set. Gelatin strengths differ, so substitute sheets by weight, not by counting leaves; 6 g of gold-grade sheets is the closest exchange.
• •Cold food needs clear seasoning. Taste the lobster base after cooling and before folding the cream, then adjust the salt by pinches. Once the mousse is set, that decision is finished.
• •Serve with thin brioche toast and a dry, mineral white wine or brut Champagne. The toast belongs beside the cassolette, not planted upright in the mousse like a flag.

Advance Preparation

• •The lobster fond and the gelée-lined cassolettes can be prepared one day ahead. Cover the vessels once the jelly has set, then fit the collars shortly before filling.
• •Fill the cassolettes at least 4 hours and no more than 24 hours before serving. Keep the parchment collars in place until the table is nearly ready.
• •Do not freeze the finished mousses. Gelatin and whipped cream thaw unevenly, leaving a grainy texture and beads of liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)