CookTeaser

A CookTale

Back in the early seventies, Helen McCully was House Beautiful’s Food Editor and had a monthly column titled, “How To, Our Beautiful Way”. It featured prominent chefs, like Andre Soltner. She also admired a young and up and coming French chef, Jacques Pepin. His featured recipe for Smoked Salmon Mousse was and still is a favorite of ours and I have been preparing it since.
In our freezer were 6 Diver Scallops. What if I converted Jacques’ recipe? Scallops are rather bland on their own, and benefit from saucing or smoking, and I possess a great stovetop smoker from a Belgium manufacturer, Resto, and still available on Amazon. It took less that 10 minutes of smoking with Cameron’s shredded Apple Wood to achieve the desired light smokiness. And the finished Scallop Mousse exceeded expectations.

INGREDIENTS For the Mousse

6 Diver Scallops
Sea Salt & Black Pepper (generously applied)
3 Large Shallots (crushed & peeled)
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise (prepared is fine)
1/2 cup of Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream
Juice of 1 Lemon (strained)
1/2 cup of Boiling water +2 envelopes of unflavored Knox Gelatin
A Stovetop Smoker
1 TB of Cameron Apple Wood

METHOD

1. Prepare the Smoker according to the products directions. Add the Scallops to the Smokers wire grill, cover & allow about 10 minutes to reach the proper level of smokiness.

2. Cut the Scallops in half, add them & the Shallots to the processor bowl & puree until you have a smooth mixture. Add the Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream & pulse a few times to thoroughly combine.

3. Combine the Lemon Juice & boiling water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle with the Gelatin, place over low heat & stir until dissolved. Stir this into the Scallop mixture.

4. Cover the bottom of a rather small terrine with parchment. Spoon the mixture into the terrine & smooth the surface. Seal with Saran & refrigerate until firm.

INGREDIENTS For the Aspic

1-1/2 cups of Clam Juice +1 Cup of Water
1 cup of Dry White Wine
1 medium Onion (sliced)
6 Parsley stalks
Sea Salt & White Pepper
1-1/2 envelopes of unflavored Knox Gelatin

METHOD

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain & return to the heat, cook down to 2 cups. Sprinkle Gelatin over the broth. Stir until dissolved. Taste the Aspic for seasoning.

2. By TB, add the Aspic to the firmed Mousse. Allow the Aspic to set in the fridge & repeat until the proper amount of has been added.