Okay, so these Asparagus Mousse Cups look intimidating. You put edible flowers on anything and it’s “Hello, tasting menu”. But despite its bespoke appearance, this is not a difficult recipe and it’s an excellent starter particularly when temperatures soar and you’re looking to get a meal off to a refreshing start. These cups feature a butter-poached asparagus mousse topped with a pool of homemade tarragon oil. Chive blossoms and wood sorrel decorate the edges to create a whimsical dish that will delight and impress guests like no other. So let’s make ‘em!
The first thing we’re going to tackle is the tarragon oil. If the oil looks familiar it’s because you’ve seen it before in a very different content. This oil graced the surface of my creamy chicken tarragon soup. Today it’s fulfilling a more refreshing role. You will have more tarragon oil than you need for this recipe. But that is far from a hardship. This oil is delicious in salad dressings or as a finishing oil. It’s also great for dunking slabs of focaccia in. Trust me, I’ve done the research.
The first thing we’re going to do is blanch a fistful of fresh tarragon. The tarragon doesn’t have to be in great shape. In fact, this is a great recipe to have in your back pocket when you’re faced with herbs that are past their prime. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Take the pot off of the heat and immediately plunge the herbs into the water. Let sit for a minute then transfer the tarragon to an ice bath and let sit for another minute.
Drain the herbs and transfer them to a high-power blender. Add olive oil and blitz on high until no chunks remain. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. At this point, you should have a vibrant green oil that tastes a little like fennel or licorice. Set the oil aside and let’s move on to the asparagus.
Remove the tough ends from a bunch of asparagus. I like to pop the ends into a freezer bag and stash them in the freezer. They add wonderful flavor to soups, sauces, and stocks. Once the ends are out of the picture, coarsely chop the asparagus and set it aside. Thinly slice three cloves of garlic. Melt butter in a skillet and add olive oil to keep it from burning. Pile in the garlic and drop the heat to low. We want the garlic to cook slowly becoming buttery and unctuous. Add the asparagus and a little vegetable or chicken stock. Cover and let the asparagus simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes or until fork tender.
While the asparagus is simmering, soak two gelatine sheets in cold water. If you don’t have gelatine sheets, feel free to use power. A tablespoon of powdered gelatine is equivalent to four sheets of gelatine. So you will need a teaspoon and a half of powdered gelatine for this recipe.
Transfer the asparagus-garlic mixture to a blender and add some softened goat cheese and a heaping tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Squeeze excess water from the gelatine sheets and add them to the blender as well. Blend on high until very smooth. Chill the asparagus mixture for an hour. When the hour is up, whip a cup of heavy cream. Add half of the cream to the asparagus mixture and fold until no streaks remain. Repeat with the remaining half. Cover the finished mousse and place it in the fridge. Let it chill until it is good and stable, for about 3 hours.
Transfer the asparagus mousse to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the mousse into chill glasses and make a small divot in the center of the mousse with the back of a teaspoon. Carefully pour the tarragon oil into the nook you’ve made. Decorate the circumference of the pool with chive blossoms and wood sorrel. Chill until ready to serve or serve immediately alongside toast points because we are trying to be fancy here.
And that’s everything you need to know about these asparagus mousse cups. Elegant, simple, and bursting with sun-soaked asparagusy goodness.
Enjoy!
Asparagus Mousse with Tarragon Oil
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet
- 1 high-powered blender
- 1 Large Piping Bag
- 1 large round piping tip
Ingredients
Tarragon Oil
- 28g fresh tarragon
- ½ cup olive oil
Asparagus Mousse
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 bunch asparagus ends removed, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 sheets gelatine ***
- 140g goat cheese softened
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard heaping
- 1 cup heavy cream
To Assemble
- 1 batch asparagus mousse
- 1 batch tarragon oil
- chive blossoms for sprinkling
- wood sorrel for sprinkling
- toast points to serve
Instructions
For the Oil
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Take it off of the heat and immediately add the tarragon. Let sit for 1 minute.
- Transfer the tarragon to an ice bath and let sit for another minute. Drain the tarragon and add it to a blender. ** Turn on the blender and stream in the olive oil. Blitz until very smooth.
- Pour the tarragon mixture through a fine mesh strainer using a muddler or the back of the spoon to help work the oil through. Discard the solids and set the oil aside.
For the Mousse
- Melt the butter in a large skillet. Once frothy, add the olive oil. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant. About a minute.
- Add the asparagus with a generous sprinkling of salt. Toss to coat in the butter and oil. Pour in the stock and bring it up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let cook for 5-7 minutes or until the asparagus is fork-tender.
- While the asparagus is cooking soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water. ***
- Pour the asparagus mixture into a blender and add the goat cheese and mustard. Squeeze the excess moisture from the gelatine sheets and add them to the blender as well. Blitz everything together until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
- When the asparagus mixture is cold, pour cold cream into a bowl and whip on high. Add half of the whipped cream to the asparagus mixture and fold until no streaks remain. Repeat with the second half of the cream and return the mousse to the fridge. Let chill for 3 hours.
- Transfer the finished mousse to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the mousse into chilled glasses. Create a divot in the center of each serving using a teaspoon. Pour the tarragon oil into the pool you created and arrange the chive blossoms and wood sorrel around it.
- Chill the mousse until ready to serve or serve immediately with toast points. ****
