Smoked Salmon Mousse Terrine

This impressive Smoked Salmon Mousse Terrine makes a wonderful starter to a celebratory meal but also would not be out of place as the centrepiece of an elaborate picnic. It has a beautifully light texture and true smoked salmon flavour. The gentle set on this terrine makes it just firm enough to hold its shape, but soft enough to spread well and melt in the mouth.

One of the best things about this recipe is that is is considerably lower in fat than other recipes calling for cream cheese or whipped cream, because pretty much the only fat in this terrine comes from the salmon. Yep, the bulk of the mousse relies on quark and egg whites, both of which are fat free ingredients. And even better, I never specifically engineered this recipe to be low fat. This means that the ingredients are there because I think they are best for the job - this is not a low fat version, this is an amazing terrine that just happens to be low in fat.

I find that salmon trimmings are always a bit saltier and smokier than the regular smoked salmon you buy in neat slices. This is because the offcuts are often taken from the edges of the salmon that had more exposure to the cure and smoke. While they might not be pretty enough to make it on to a seafood platter, they are perfect for making a Smoked Salmon Mousse. You will notice that my recipe has very few ingredients, and in fact there is nothing in there at all which might detract from the flavour of the salmon. I don't even add any basic seasoning to this recipe because the smoked salmon shines through proudly and is delicious as is.

I chose to set this in a loaf tin so that I could present it as a terrine, but you can also set this mixture in individual cling film lined moulds should you prefer. This can also be made ahead of time and will keep in the fridge for at least 5 days without the texture of the mousse suffering.

A note on Strained Quark

I love quark. It is an amazing product that I think we should all use more of. I have noticed, however, that supermarkets generally don't know what to do with it. I went into three different supermarkets and found it in three different locations; next to the yogurts, behind some goat's cheeses and stashed in the chilled 'ethnic foods' section. If you don't know what quark is, it is technically a fresh curd cheese that is generally fat free and traditional in many European countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe. It is smooth and soft to the point of spoonable, and tastes like a cross between cottage cheese and crème fraîche. I imagine it is these qualities which confuse supermarkets, since the texture and fat free status doesn't naturally scream "cheese". The smoothness and slightly tangy sour note are what appeals to me for this recipe, but I can't deny that the fat free thing is a major bonus! Unfortunately, quark from a supermarket is a lot wetter than it should be and more closely resembles a sad, watery, low fat yogurt. The kind of quark you want is something you can take a big spoon of and have it remain perfectly in place.

Since I have yet to find a reliable source of 'good' quark, I have found a way to make it usable by draining away a lot of the excess liquid from supermarket quark.

This involves:

1. Placing a sieve over a bowl

2. Lining the sieve with several sheets of kitchen roll

3. Scooping the quark onto the kitchen roll

4. Leaving it for 2-3 hours

5. (Repeating the process if necessary)

By that time, the kitchen roll will be sopping wet and there will be a puddle in the bowl. What you have left in the sieve will be a slightly firmer quark that will stay on a spoon without dripping down the sides. It should also pull away from the paper fairly cleanly when you tip it out of the kitchen roll. From 500g of supermarket quark (two pots) I ended up with 350g of usable strained quark. It is really important not to skip this step or you may end up with smoked salmon soup instead of mousse!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

Medium Sized Loaf Tin

Cling film

Spatula

Food Processor

Mixing Bowl

Electric Whisk

INGREDIENTS

350g Strained Quark (from 500g Quark)

6g Powdered Gelatine (240 bloom)

35g Water

2 Egg Whites

150g Smoked Salmon Trimmings

*Additional strips of smoked salmon to line the tin

1) In a cup or small bowl, add the water to the gelatine. Stir well to make sure there are no lumps and leave it to the side to bloom. Line the loaf tin with a layer of cling film, and drape any optional additional smoked salmon strips neatly around the base of the tin. These are not essential as they are a purely decorative addition, but they do add to the drama of the terrine.

2) In a food processor, whizz the strained quark with half of the smoked salmon trimmings until it forms a smooth, pale pink mixture. Add the rest of the smoked salmon and whizz again until the salmon is only roughly chopped.

3) In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Put your now bloomed gelatine in the microwave for 15-25 seconds to melt (but NOT boil) the gelatine into a clear goo that moves freely when tilted. Pour this into the egg whites and whisk another minute to incorporate it fully. Now, the egg whites should look smooth and glossy, but will still be holding soft peaks.

4) Using a quarter of the quark/salmon mixture at a time, gently fold it through the egg whites with a spatula. When fully incorporated and evenly distributed, the mixture should be very airy and leave clear trails behind the spatula when you stir it. Pour this into the cling film lined loaf tin and smooth it into shape. Lay another piece of cling film flat along the surface of the mousse and leave it to set in the fridge for at least 5 hours.

5) Remove the top layer of cling film and place the serving plate over the terrine. With one hand firmly on the base of the terrine and the other securely holding the plate flush, swiftly but carefully flip the loaf tin and plate so the terrine is now right side up. Lift the tin off the terrine so that the cling film stays behind, then gently peel the cling film away. You now have a free standing Smoked Salmon Mousse Terrine! Garnish with lemon slices and serve with crackers or fresh crusty bread.