Chicken Liver Mousse with Grape Gelee: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Makes2 (8-oz) terrines

Active time:30 min
Start to finish:4 hr (includes chilling)

March 2009

Cooking puréed chicken livers with shallots, cream, and seasonings in a water bath produces a supremely smooth mousse. Gild the lily with a layer of clear red-grape gelée. The grapes (left over from Sangria Chicken) provide a sweet contrast to the earthy mousse.

For mousse

1/2 cup sliced shallots (2 large)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb chicken livers, trimmed

For gelée

1/2 lb red seedless grapes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/8 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Equipment:

2 (8-oz) ramekins or crocks
Accompaniment:

crackers or baguette slices

Make mousse:

Preheat oven to 300ºF with rack in middle.
Cook shallots in butter with bay leaf, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until shallots are soft, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.
Purée livers with shallot mixture in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup and let cool.
Divide liver mixture among ramekins, then cover each ramekin with foil. Bake in a water bath (see Tips) until mousse is just set, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove foil and transfer ramekins to a rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, then chill at least 1 hour.

Prepare gelée once mousse is cold:

Purée grapes in cleaned blender until smooth, then transfer to a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil with sugar and a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, then boil until reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 6 minutes. Strain through cleaned fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup.
Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tbsp grape juice in another small saucepan and let soften 1 minute. Heat mixture over low heat, swirling pan, until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and remaining grape juice. Cool 5 minutes, then stir in chives. Spoon about 3 Tbsp grape mixture over each mousse. Chill until gelée is set, about 1 hour.
Before serving, bring mousse to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Cooks’ note: Mousse with gelée can be chilled up to 3 days.

Recipe by Ian Knauer

Photograph by Stephanie Foley