Crayfish Mousse

This thoroughly indulgent mousse houses diced crayfish for a wonderful flavour and texture within the creamy mousse.
How long will it take?
45 minutes plus overnight chilling time
What’s the serving size?
Serves 8 - 10
What do I need?
1 x 1 kg (approx.) cooked crayfish
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 sprigs thyme
100 g unsalted butter, chopped
20 g plain flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp brandy
500 mL fish stock
1 ½ tsp McKenzie’s gelatine powder, alternatively 3 gelatine leaves
½ tsp sea salt
50 g crème fraiche
70 mL cream
To serve
Trout or salmon caviar
Dill sprigs
Melba toast, crackers, or crusty bread
How do I make it?
Remove legs from crayfish and set aside. Remove the crayfish tail, cut in half, and remove the flesh, refrigerate with the legs until needed. Break the tail shell and crayfish head into roughly 3cm pieces and place in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, thyme, and butter, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the flour and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir through the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add brandy to deglaze pan, then slowly add stock and mix well. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, then stir and remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, bloom the gelatine by sprinkling the gelatine into 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
Strain stock mixture through a muslin cloth into a clean saucepan to remove solids. Place over medium-low heat, add the gelatine and salt, and stir to dissolve. Gently simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Whisk crème fraiche and cream together to form soft peaks. When the crayfish mix is cool, gently fold in the cream.
Finely chop half the crayfish meat and fold into the mousse mixture. Pour the mousse into a 700 mL capacity mould or divide between smaller bowls. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To serve, loosen mousse from the mould by briefly dipping the base in hot water, then invert onto a serving plate. Generously spoon caviar over the top of the mousse and garnish with dill sprigs. Add reserved crayfish meat and legs to the plate and serve with crackers, melba toast or crusty bread.