Serves: 6 as a starter
There is something of the 1970’s about this recipe –I think because it reminds me of my mother’s devilled eggs. However it is no less delicious just because it is a bit retro. The mousse needs to set in the fridge for a few hours so bear this in mind when thinking about timings. I don’t turn this mousse out because I prefer a slightly softer set but you could add a couple of extra sheets of gelatine if you want to be a bit Fanny Craddock and unmould it. Any leftovers make a delicious sandwich filling or stuffing for a baked potato.
Ingredients
- 3 sheets gelatine, about 10g weight
- 250ml chicken stock (can be made with half a stock cube)
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- ½-1 tablespoon curry powder (depending on strength)
- 2 x 180g tubs cream cheese (Philadelphia for example)
- 100ml mayonnaise
- 225g peeled prawns, patted dry if previously frozen plus a few extra for decoration
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
Method
- Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes. Heat the stock in a saucepan but do not boil. Take off the heat. Lift the softened gelatine out of the water and stir into the hot stock. Leave to cool-you can chill it to speed up the process but don’t let it set.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the shallot and sauté for 5 minutes. Do not let it brown. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Place the cream cheese and shallots in a food processor and process until smooth –you can use a stick blender for the smoothest result. Spoon into a mixing bowl and fold in the mayonnaise. Stir in the cooled stock. Roughly chop the prawns if they are on the large side (i.e. tiger prawns) and stir into the mixture followed by the chopped egg. Taste and season with salt and ground black pepper if necessary. Spoon into a serving bowl, cover with cling film and chill for at least 3-4 hours. Decorate with extra prawns and green leaves.
