Smoked trout mousse from Robin McDouall’s Clubland Cooking.

McDouall was ever the consummate minimalist, and this simple yet versatile little dish exemplifies his culinary philosophy. No cooking required:

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“Smoked trout is so delicate in flavour that it needs nothing but unsalted butter, lemon juice and pepper to turn it into mousse. Skin and bone the trout and put all the ingredients in the blender together. If you are going to eat it the same day, add a little double cream. You can make a large quantity and eat it with a fork as a fish course or you can make--or anyway serve--rather less and accompany it with hot toast or a brown loaf.” (Clubland Cooking 41)

Notes:

-….and, perhaps, some horseradish sauce, although McDouall forbids it with trout; the more assertive smoked mackerel is, however, an altogether different beast. To make mousse from smoked mackerel, use the simplify the recipe for the trout: “I doubt you’ll need salt, pepper, mustard or sugar.”

-McDouall likes prepared horseradish and likes to use it when making sauce. To make the horseradish sauce: “Grated horseradish out of a bottle is very good and much less trouble than grating your own. Just mix the grated horseradish with rather a lot of cream.” Caveat: “Bottled horseradish sauce is beastly.” (Clubland Cooking 41)