This asparagus mousse amuse bouche topped with delicate smoked trout and dill makes an elegant dish for dinner parties.
Delicately flavored with lemon and dill, light and creamy asparagus mousse is served with a deliciously rich cold smoked trout garnish. A perfect light starter or entree idea for spring, it's one of my favorite asparagus recipes.
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Why this is the best asparagus recipe
- It's so delicious: Making homemade mousse can seem arduous as it has several steps, but the final result is worth it. The creamy, velvety texture, delicate asparagus taste, and smoked trout garnish are so elegant and refined.
- It's elevated: This is an impressive dish. It has challenging aspects, but I go through how to make asparagus mousse step by step to make it much simpler!
- You can make it ahead: I love a make-ahead starter, and this is the perfect asparagus appetizer recipe for spring parties to serve alongside some classy cocktails.
I often serve asparagus mousse as a starter or entree for spring dinner parties, followed by lamb rump roast or salmon en route - it is light enough not to fill guests up and tastes elegant and refined. And this rhubarb pistachio pavlova will finish off your meal in style.
Making an asparagus mousse amuse bouche has several stages and can be time-consuming, but the benefit is that it can be made in advance as it needs time to chill and set.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this asparagus mousse amuse bouche with smoked trout and dill.
- Asparagus spears: Asparagus is a Spring vegetable that is technically a form of grass! It grows upwards from the earth and is delicious as well as nutritious.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream or double cream adds a rich, creamy taste and velvety texture.
- Eggs: We use egg yolks and whites in this asparagus mousse.
- Lemon juice: Lemon elevates all the flavors and adds a touch of vital acidity and citrus zing.
- Water: Boil asparagus in water and keep some back to help liquify it.
- Gelatine powder: Gelatin is a setting agent needed to make this mousse the right consistency. Agar agar is an alternative you could use instead.
- Neutral oil: We don't want any flavored oils like olive oil in our mayonnaise base. Use a neutral oil like sunflower, corn, or canola oil.
- White wine vinegar: Vinegar stabilizes the mayonnaise and helps it to emulsify.
- Dill: Fresh dill has the most amazing Spring flavor and pairs beautifully with asparagus and smoked trout.
- Cold Smoked Trout: You can also use smoked salmon, but often trout is a more sustainable fish to buy, so for this reason, I often prefer to use it.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
See the recipe card for quantities and instructions.
Instructions for asparagus mousse
How to make mayonnaise
To save time and skip a step, you can use store-bought mayonnaise instead of making your own, but you'll have the egg yolks, and homemade mayonnaise tastes so much better. I'd highly recommend you try it.
- Whisk the egg yolk with the vinegar until it thickens, and then very slowly start to add the oil drop by drop. Once you have added half the oil, you can add it slightly faster. The mayonnaise will thicken and become creamy.
- Season the mayonnaise with salt, pepper, and a splash of lemon juice to taste.
Preparing the mousse
- Prepare the asparagus. Cut the asparagus spears into one-inch pieces and bring a saucepan of salted water to a rolling boil. Prepare a mixing bowl filled with ice-cold water.
- Blanch the asparagus spears in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and then immediately remove them to the ice bath to halt the cooking process. Reserve the cooking water and 10 of the asparagus tips for a garnish.
- Blend the remaining asparagus spears in a liquidizer with the dill, using a little of the cooking water to help get it going if needed. Blend until the asparagus puree is very smooth, and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Whip the cream using an electric hand whisk or food processor until it is thick and gloopy but not stiff.
- Whip the egg whites until it is opaque white with stiff peaks.
- Prepare the gelatin. Pour the powdered gelatin into a small glass or jug with 1 tablespoon of cold water to separate the granules. Then stir in 2 tablespoon of hot (but not boiling) water to dissolve them into the liquid.
Top tip
To get this asparagus mousse to amuse bouche extra smooth, push the blended asparagus through a sieve - but don't use a sieve with too fine mesh as it simply won't go through!
Assembling the asparagus mousse
- Stir together the gelatin, mayonnaise, blended asparagus, and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.
- Fold the whipped cream and then the meringue into the asparagus mousse mixture until it is fully combined. Add a pinch more salt, as cream always impacts the salt levels of a dish.
- Pour the asparagus mousse mixture into small serving glasses and allow to set in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.
- Serve asparagus mousse amuse bouche garnished with a curl of smoked trout, one of the reserved asparagus spears, and a sprig of fresh dill.
Wine pairing
A great wine to serve with asparagus mousse would be a sharp and powerful Sauvignon Blanc. Asparagus is quite a hard flavor to pair wine with as it's quite acidic, so it needs something that stands up to it. Read more about my best food and wine pairing tips.
Plating tips for an amuse bouche
As this is an amuse-bouche or small elegant starter for a fine dining experience at home, I like to serve this asparagus mousse in dainty glasses or even espresso cups. It is intended to be just a few bites, so keep the serving size small.
Substitutions and variations
Here are some ways to make this asparagus mousse amuse bouche suit you.
- Herbs - instead of dill, try mint for a fresh alternative.
- Smoked fish - if you cannot find smoked trout, this recipe will work with smoked salmon instead.
- Dairy-free - try using an oat cream. Coconut cream may also work, but it could overpower the asparagus flavor.
- Gelatin - another setting agent like agar agar could be used to make this a no-gelatin mousse.
Love asparagus? Try this asparagus and crispy prosciutto quiche or this comte cheese and asparagus tart. I also love making a classic Spring risotto with asparagus and peas whenever I get the chance.
Equipment
You will need the following equipment to make this asparagus amuse bouche.
- Four large mixing bowls
- Large saucepan
- Food processor or liquidizer
- Electric hand whisk
- Knife (I use Robert Welch)
Storage
Store any leftover asparagus mousse in the fridge and consume them within 2-3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
FAQ
Insert a sharp knife into the asparagus spear, and if it goes in with very minimal resistance, the asparagus is done. Asparagus does not take long to cook. Simply a few minutes in boiling salted water.
Asparagus stalks are called spears.
Asparagus should be soft when cooked but also still retain a small amount of firmness or bite.
Other Spring recipes
Recipe Card
Asparagus Mousse Amuse Bouche
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 blender or liquidiser
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 kitchen knife
- 1 electric whisk or kitchen aid
Ingredients
- 500 grams asparagus
- 1 egg white
- ½ lemon (juice and zest)
- 140 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 7 grams gelatin powder (one sachet)
- 3 tablespoon warm water (not boiling)
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- salt and pepper
Mayonnaise (recipe needs 100g/half a cup if you'd prefer to use storebought)
- 100 ml sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ lemon juice
Instructions
Mayonnaise (makes 100g or half a cup)
- Separate the egg yolk and white into separate bowls, ensuring that no egg yolk gets into the egg white.
- Whisk the egg yolk with the vinegar until it thickens, and then very slowly add the oil drop by drop at first. Once you have added half the oil, you can add it slightly faster. The mayonnaise will thicken and become creamy.
- Season the mayonnaise with salt, pepper and a splash of lemon juice to taste.
Asparagus mousse
- Cut the asparagus spears into one inch pieces and cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove them to the ice bath to halt the cooking process. Reserve the cooking water and 10 of the asparagus tips to use as a garnish.
- Blend the remaining asparagus spears in a liquidizer with the dill, using a little of the cooking water to help get it going if needed. We need the asparagus puree to be very smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Whip the cream until it is thick and gloopy, but not stiff.
- Whisk egg whites until it is opaque white with stiff peaks.
- Put 1 tablespoon of cold water into a small jug or glass. Pour the powdered gelatine into it to separate the granules. Then stir in 2 more tablespoons of hot (but not boiling) water to dissolve them into the liquid.
- Mix the blended asparagus mixture with the lemon juice, gelatine mixture, and mayonnaise in a large mixing bowl.
- Fold the whipped cream and then the meringue into the asparagus mousse mixture until it is fully combined. Season with lemon juice and zest, a pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour the asparagus mousse mixture into small serving glasses or espresso cups and leave to gently set in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. The mousse will remain slightly soft.
- Garnish the asparagus mousse amuse bouche with a cold smoked trout and an asparagus tip, and top with a sprig of fresh dill.
Video
Nutrition
Food safety
As this asparagus mousse recipe contains raw eggs, check that the eggs you use are from chickens vaccinated against salmonella. In the UK, the box should have the British Lion stamp, which ensures this.
Ellie says
This asparagus mousse was delicious and worked so well as an amuse bouche at our dinner party! Guests were very impressed indeed, thank you!
Jess says
This is so great!
Andrea says
so elegant! love the texture of this mousse!
S Beynon says
Was looking for a good starter for an elegant spring dinner party and came across the Asparagus Mouse amuse Bouche. My quests and I loved the concept and the ingredients. However I think it tasted a little bland. The recipe mentioned that you could used purchased Mayonaise rather than making your own. However, it did not mention how much purchased mayonaise to include. I took a quess, which may have contributed to the blandness. Also the recipe called for 7grams of gelatin powder mixed with 3 tbsp of water (hot or cold?). It was very thick so did not use. In Canada the gelatin powder we usually use is Knorr brand and you add more water. I used that but again was not sure how much too use. I erred on the side of too much gelatin and water. I think the mo. use ended up too thick. Could you please provide more detailed instructions for both of those ingredients/steps.
Rosanna Stevens says
Hi Sharon, thanks so much for trying the recipe and I appreciate your notes which I have taken on board and updated the post. I wasn't aware of the difference between gelatine products in the UK vs US and Canada and have added more instructions to reflect this so it is clearer, and I have added the amount of mayonnaise to add if using store bought as well 🙂 Rosanna x