Avocado Mousse, Cucumber Ceviche and Isle of Wight Crab
This is a reworking of an old recipe I used to serve at the bistro, one I used to call avocado panna cotta, a concept that was possibly a step too far at the time; now I sling in a whipped egg white and call it a mousse instead.
It’s reasonably well behaved for a mousse so you could in theory spoon it on the plate instead of piping it, but if I’m feeding friends at home I’d set the mousse in individual glasses and be done with it; nobody likes a show-off…unless of course you’ve hired in a private chef.
Other than the avocado, the base for the mousse is flavoured with a little spring onion and just the stalks of some fresh coriander, which along with the addition of the egg white makes it a very light affair.
As you would expect it pairs very well with delicate seafood flavours, like crab and prawns, which in this case is complemented with grassy flavours of cucumber and coriander. The whole thing is lifted with a lime based ceviche style dressing for the cucumber and a smattering of chilli for good measure. A garnish of spring onion and coriander leaves would finish the job off nicely.
Ingredients
(serves 4)
For the mousse
1 x ripe avocado
1 x tablespoon lime juice
50ml milk
100ml double cream
3 x spring onions, topped and tailed and sliced thinly
12 x stalks of coriander finely chopped (leaves removed and reserved for garnishing)
1 x leaf of gelatine
1 x large egg white
¾ – 1 teaspoon caster sugar
½ – 1 teaspoon salt
For the crab
1 x 200g pot of mixed crab (separated into brown and white)
1 – 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Good pinch of smoked paprika
½ – 1 teaspoon sea salt
For the ceviche
4 x tablespoons lime juice (roughly one large, ripe lime)
½ x teaspoon caster sugar
1 x teaspoon sea salt
½ a large cucumber
1 x mild red chilli
The mousse will need three or four hours to set in the fridge.
Heat the milk with the cream in a small pan, along with the spring onion and coriander until hot and beginning to steam. Turn the heat off and leave the onion to soften for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile soften the gelatine in a shallow bowl of cold water.
Pour the milk and onion combo into a food processor and whizz until smooth. Wipe out the pan and then pour the milk back in to the pan through a sieve. Reheat again until warmed through, then add the gelatine, having squeezed it first to remove excess water. Add half the sugar and salt for now.
Remove the flesh from the avocado into a bowl, mash with a fork and a tablespoon of lime juice then add to the food processor (no need to clean it out) and whizz to a smooth purée. Add the milk mixture and whizz again to combine. Pour into a large-ish bowl.
Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form, then add a spoonful to the avocado and mix in thoroughly to loosen the purée. Fold in the rest of the egg white then taste for seasoning, adding a little more sugar or salt as necessary.
Divide the mousse between glasses and refrigerate until needed.
Mix the brown crab meat with the smoked paprika, some salt and a tablespoon of the vinegar. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Mix the white crab meat with a splash or two of white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt, taste for seasoning and set to one side.
To make the ceviche, mix the lime juice with the salt and the sugar – it should taste like the rim of a frozen margarita, sour and salty.
Chop the red chilli and add it to the lime juice.
Slice the cucumber or shave it with a potato peeler – however you see fit, but only mix it with the ceviche once you’re ready to plate up.
Spoon the brown crab meat onto the plate, top with the dressed cucumber, then the white crab meat on top of that. Add the avocado mousse, then scatter over more finely sliced spring onion and coriander leaves for a garnish. Sprinkle with a pinch of smoked paprika too if you like.