Avocado Mousse with Prawns and Vinaigrette

This is a delicious, creamy and most attractive starter to a dinner party. But don’t make it too far in advance as it tends to lose its beautiful colour.

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  Serves 8

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
½ oz (10 g) powdered gelatine
5 fl oz (150 ml) hot chicken stock
5 fl oz (150 ml) soured cream
5 fl oz (150 ml) mayonnaise (see link at the end of the recipe)
juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 oz (75 g) peeled prawns
vinaigrette, to serve (see link at the end of the recipe)
salt and freshly milled black pepper

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Equipment
You will also need 8 small ramekins, lightly oiled, a pestle and mortar, a 1½ pint (850 ml) basin and an electric mixer (or balloon whisk, if you need the exercise).

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Method

To make the avocado mousse, put 3 tablespoons of the stock and the gelatine in a bowl and stand it in a pan of simmering water. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved, then pour into the goblet of a liquidiser with the rest of the stock. Next, skin and stone the avocados, chop the flesh roughly and add it to the liquidiser (include the darker green part that clings to the skin – this will help the colour). Now add the lemon juice and garlic, and blend until it’s completely smooth. Empty the mixture into a bowl and stir in the soured cream and mayonnaise very thoroughly, then season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the lightly oiled ramekins, cover them with clingfilm and pop them into the fridge to set. When you’re ready to serve, slide a palette knife around the edge of each ramekin and ease the mousse away from the sides. Turn the mousses out on to serving plates, top each one of them with some of the prawns and sprinkle some vinaigrette over each serving. Have plenty of crusty bread ready to go with this.

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Vinaigrette Dressing

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