Fit for Company, Fit for a Crowd, Great Leftovers
Every time I serve this amazingly simple spread, it draws oohs and aahs. It’s my goto offering for numerous couch-potato gatherings: Super Bowl, March Madness, and the World Series. The delicate salty meat flavor of the tongue combines perfectly with the tangy sour cream and cream cheese. The mousse can be made up to 3 days ahead, leaving you free to join the gang in front of the TV. The mousse is best made with smoked or pickled beef or veal tongue, which you can prepare yourself for a recipe or buy slices of smoked tongue loaf or sliced pickled tongue from a deli.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1¼ pounds cold cooked, smoked, or pickled tongue (see headnote), cut into ½-inch dice (about 3 cups)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 8-ounce block Philadelphia cream cheese (use the original, which contains guar gum), at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon smooth or coarse-grain Dijon mustard
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallots or fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry, plus more if needed
- Crackers or toasted rye or pumpernickel bread for serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Place the tongue in a food processor and pulse several times to finely chop. Add a sprinkling of salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, and the remaining ingredients, except the crackers. Pulse several times to produce a homogeneous mixture. Taste and add sherry and/or salt and pepper if needed.
- Scrape into a serving bowl just large enough to hold the mousse.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm (overnight is best). (The mousse keeps refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.) Serve from the bowl with the crackers or toast.
ALTERNATIVE CUTS:
- Pastrami, corned beef, or smoked ham.
COOK’S NOTES:
- The addition of gelatin turns this mousse into a sliceable terrine. Dissolve 2 packets (4½ teaspoons) unflavored gelatin by sprinkling it over ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes, and add the gelatin mixture when you add the sherry. Place the mixture in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap
and chill until firm, or overnight. Unmold and slice to serve as a first course. - You can use this mousse as a filling for tea sandwiches or canapés, garnished with thin slices of dill pickles or cornichons.
