Don’t knock the classics. This looks so impressive and, frankly, so 70s, but so what?
Ingredients
• a little rapeseed oil
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and very finely sliced
• 400g unsliced smoked salmon, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced, or to taste
• lemon wedges, to serve
• 200g full-fat cream cheese
• 450ml double cream
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 300g cooked prawns, shelled and deveined
• 50g watercress
• 6 cooked tiger prawns in the shell
• melba toast, to serve
Method
1 Use a little rapeseed oil to oil a shallow 22cm diameter, 4.5cm deep savarin mould, then line with cling film, making sure it overlaps the mould all the way around.
2 Layer most of the cucumber into the mould, overlapping the slices as if they were fish scales, so that they cover all of the inside of the mould. Set aside.
3 Put the chopped smoked salmon into a food processor with the lemon juice and blitz until smooth.
4 Add the cream cheese and blitz once more, then, with the food processor running, slowly add the double cream until the mixture is thickened and smooth, scraping the mixture down halfway through. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the lemon juice to taste.
5 Carefully spoon the mixture into a piping bag, then pipe half the mixture into the base of the cucumber-lined mould. Top with half the prawns, then cover with the remaining mousse.
6 Smooth it flat with a palette knife and cover the top with the remaining cucumber. Pull the cling film up to cover, then place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
7 Peel back the cling film, then place the mould upside down on a serving plate. Gently lift off the mould and peel back the cling film.
8 Pile the watercress and remaining prawns in a pile in the centre of the mould. Decorate with the tiger prawns. Serve with wedges of lemon and plenty of melba toast.
Recipe courtesy of James Martin, extracted from Home Comforts. Photography by Yuki Sigura © Quadrille Publishing.
