This is a nice recipe but really one just for special occasions as the ingredients are a little expensive. We have used fresh Atlantic prawns, fresh tiger prawns, sea weed, knorri sheets , another type of sea weed, Samphire .. otherwise known as sea asparagus and salmon eggs. All these things are readily available from either a good supermarket or from your best local fish mongers.
We will start with the garnish. We got a selection of fresh seaweeds from our fish monger. This is usually packed in salt so needs to be soaked in fresh water. It is easier to do this in whole pieces and then cut as required later. This can be left to soak for a while, which is why I mention it at the beginning.
Then we will prepare the large garnish which of course is the large prawn. This was cooked in a little oil and seasoning in a frying pan. We then let it cool and peeled the shell carefully off the tail. We put the shells back into the same pan and then cooked them a little longer and then added a few table spoons of vegetable oil and a little more salt and pepper. This was left on a very low heat for a while so the oil could take on the flavour of the prawns. This was then passed through a very fine sieve and allowed to cool. Do not chill in the fridge as you will find that the oil will now set.
Now the mousse. We lined some small ring moulds with greaseproof paper. Then inside that we put a large triangle of knorri. This is paper like stuff made from seaweed. It can be bought all over the place now and is usually used when making sushi. This comes in big squares so if you cut diagonally, you will get the same triangle that I used. When this has been done we need to make the prawn mousse.
This very straight forward and really takes only a couple of minutes. Into a food processor we put about two ounces per person of Atlantic prawns. We added a small spoonful of horseradish sauce, some sea salt and some course ground black pepper. We the turned on the processor and left it going until the mix was very well chopped and quite smooth. Into this we added some double cream and then mixed this until the cream started to thicken. Then we removed the mix and tipped it into a bowl. This mix will need to be set using gelatine leaves. The rule I use is… for every pint of cream added, you will need six sheets of gelatine. The gelatine was soaked in cold water until it is limp and soft, then drained, squeezed out and placed in a very small pan. Into this we put a couple of table spoons of water from the soaking seaweed. This was then gently heated until all the gelatine has completely dissolved into the liquid. This can then be poured into the prawn and cream mix. Don't worry at first if the mix seems to go very wet and sloppy, as it cools it will begin to set. When it has cooled and nearly set, using a piping bag you can pipe the mouse into the moulds lined with the sea weed sheet. This is all then put into the fridge until the mousse has completely set.
This can all be done a little ahead of time. When you are ready, it is time to put the whole dish together. We placed the mousse in the centre of the plate. On top of the mousse we put a ball of curly endive lettuce . then around we put pieces of different seaweeds. This was done by snipping it with scissors. We also added a few strands of samphire but this is optional. Samphire can be bought in jars from either good super markets or fish mongers can get it for you. Then among the sea weed we dotted around salmon eggs. These can be bought in nice small jars so you will not need a lot. Then around and over the seaweed we drizzled some of the prawn flavoured oil that we made earlier. Not only does this add flavour but adds to the appearance as it gives the dish a nice gloss. Then at the last possible moment we placed the peeled prawn on top and sprinkled the plate with a little paprika.
That is it. On first look it all looks a bit complicated but can be broken down into a number of simple steps, so go on………. Give it a try. I promise that it is worth it.
Paul Vincent, Head Chef.