Pump Up Your Shrimp

A few days ago in culinary school, we took the simple appetizer of shrimp, and dressed it up for a French Restaurant.  I felt like Remy in Ratatouille, deconstructing a dish and presenting it in a whole new way (watch the movie to the end if you don't know what I'm talking about).  That's when I discovered my favorite part about school: taking something familiar and recreating it in new ways.  This concept of deconstruction is the latest trend in the food world and I'm sure glad to be in culinary school to learn all about it. 


I present to you Shrimp Mousse.  This savory mousse was made like the dessert version. We pureed cooked and cooled shrimp, mixed in a little gelatin, folded it into seasoned whipped cream, then molded it in a small round mold called a timbale.  The mousse was topped with a poached shrimp and a sprig of dill.  The top was then filled with aspic, a type of gelatin, for preservation as well as presentation.  The plate was completed with a bed of cucumber slices and a healthy drizzle of hand whisked, balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Out of all the things we've cooked so far in this culinary class, I really liked this dish the most, since it was basically doing pastry again. Having finished all my baking/pastry courses, it was awesome to temporarily dive back into the pastry tricks of the trade. In my baking classes we've made little mousse molds, so this mousse was a nice visit down pastry lane. The shrimp mousse was made in Garde Manger, the cold foods kitchen; we make a myriad of cold foods such as salads, cold soups,and hors d'oeuvre. In a sense, this dish was basically an application of the pastry world into the culinary world. It's awesome how different tricks can transform the familiar into the unfamiliar.


- Sandwich