Preparation:
1. Soften gelatin in the 1/4 cup cold water for a couple of minutes,
then dissolve over low heat (or in microwave).
2. Add lemon juice to gelatin and stir into mayonnaise.
3. Fold in next five ingredients.
4. Pour into a 4 cup fish mold (or some other mold), chill several hours
to set.
5. Unmold onto a large platter, board, or mirror.
6. Garnish lavishly with greens, sculpted vegetables, etc., and serve
with a selection of crackers.
Chef says:
When I performed a Residency with the Lacrosse Symphony Orchestra a few
years ago, one of the activities they had booked for me was to play my horn and give a
cooking demonstration at a local vocational college. I decided on Corelli's "Sonata
in F Major," and "Salmon Mousse on the Vegetable Island."
It turned out there was no piano for my accompanist to play at the
school, so I gave a very abridged version of the Sonata, unaccompanied. But there was a
great, fully equipped, commercial kitchen, along with the two very enthusiastic and
helpful women who ran it. So I was happy and we created a magnificent display for the the
students.
Served on a mirror, about 3' X 2', the centerpiece of course was the
mousse. We also prepared a glaze for the mousse out of mayonnaise, a little plain yoghurt,
some lemon juice and gelatin. While still liquid, we poured the glaze over the mousse, and
quickly decorated it with capers (outlining the gills), pimentos (flaring out into a
beautiful tail and fins), tiny shrimp (carefully placed to appear like the scales), green
onions (as a mouth, smiling, of course), and a sliced green olive for the eye. When the
glaze hardened, it ended up looking like some kind of pop-art porcelain fish.
The spectacular mousse was surrounded by a bed of radish roses, an
artichoke volcano, a lagoon of smoked mussels, and a swamp of yoghurt-vegetable dip. The
landscape was dotted with other miscellaneous island paraphernalia: a beached cucumber
boat, palm trees made of whole carrots topped with a sculpted bell pepper, and a broccoli
forest. The whole island was ringed with crackers.
It looked beautiful just long enough to get it all on video. Then we ate
it.
