Lusciously smooth Lobster and smoked salmon mousse, served with a hit of Tyrrells sweet chilli & red pepper crisps

Serves 6 as a starter

Ingredients

• 1 whole cooked lobster, around 400-500g, or 150g cooked lobster meat
• 100ml cold water
  
  
• juice of half a lemon
• dash of Tabasco
• 4 sheets leaf gelatine
• 50 – 75g cooked prawns
• 150g mayonnaise
• 200ml double cream
• 100g smoked salmon, very finely chopped
• sunflower oil, for greasing
• sea salt and finely ground pepper
• salmon caviar and dill sprigs, to garnish

Cucumber dressing

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 tsp caster sugar
  
  
• tbsp cider vinegar
• tbsp lightly chopped dill
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
• salt and finely ground pepper

• Tyrrells sweet chilli & red pepper crisps, to serve

Method

1. First extract the meat from the lobster. Lie the lobster on its back, and cut down the centre with a sharp knife or cleaver. Remove the tail meat, then crack open the legs using a mallet or a rolling pin and extract the leg meat – you may need to tease it out with a lobster pick or a skewer. Remove any other meat you can see, making sure you discard the green tomalley (intestinal tract). Weigh the meat: you should have between 125 –150g.
2. Using the cooked prawns, make up the total amount of shellfish to 200g and put in a food processor.
3. Pour the water and lemon juice into a small saucepan and heat until just boiling. Add the Tabasco and remove from the heat. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water. Once softened, squeeze the leaves to remove excess water and add to the lemon and Tabasco water. Stir until completely dissolved.
4. Purée the shellfish in the food processor, then add the mayonnaise. Pulse a couple of times, before gradually adding the lemon water. Continue to pulse until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, then season with salt and pepper.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the double cream until it reaches the soft peaks stage, then gently fold into the lobster and prawn mixture. Check for seasoning and add as required. Stir through the finely chopped smoked salmon.
6. Grease a 600ml mould or 8 individual ramekins with sunflower oil, then pour in the mousse. Cover with cling film and leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight, until set.
7. To make the cucumber dressing, mix the sugar and vinegar together until the sugar dissolves, then add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and leave to stand for half an hour before using.
8. Remove the mousse from the fridge and dip the mould or ramekins into a bowl of just-boiled water for the count of three. Turn out onto a serving dish or individual plates.
9. Garnish with a spoonful of salmon caviar and a few sprigs of dill, and drizzle the cucumber dressing around the mousse.
10. Grab a bag of Tyrrells sweet chilli & red pepper crisps to finish off the dish with a bang.