Smoked Trout Mousse

I have been practicing making smoked trout mousse for a dinner we are planning two weeks from now (more about this later). The smoked trout mousse is to be an amuse-bouche. I have decided to serve it with a couple of slices of apple braised in Reisling wine.

My first attempt at the mousse was based on a recipe from a food blog (which in turn was based on an old recipe from The Silver Palate).

I soaked a sheet of gelatin in cold water and then pored hot water over it to dissolve it. To this I added a quarter cup of mayonnaise, the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon or so of finely chopped shallot, a pinch of smoked paprika, a drop of Choluca (hot sauce), a pinch of fresh dill and salt and pepper. I then chilled it for half an hour while I whipped a cup of whipping cream.

Once the mayo mixture had set slightly I folded in a cup of flaked smoked trout and the whipped cream and scooped the mousse into a bunch of different sized ramekins, covered them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for a few hours.

For dinner I braised some apple slices in sparkling wine (we had no Reisling on hand). To braise the apple slices you simply saute them for a few minutes in butter, sprinkle them with sugar and then pour some wine in the pan and braise for a few minutes until the wine has become a syrup.

I plated the smoked trout mousse(s) and draped a couple of apple slices over them.

The verdict: the apples slices were delicious and a perfect accompaniment. The mousse however was a bit overly creamy and not quite set enough (not enough gelatin?). It was tasty, although the smoked paprika and hot sauce really didn't come through.
so.. not quite perfect. I guess I'll try another batch before the dinner party to see if I can get it right.