Avocado Mousse

We had friends coming over and this meal was a small thank you.  They have let our kids park in their driveway for 8 years because their house backs-up to the high school.  The fun thing about the Purdy’s is they have a great palette.  They love to eat and love to eat different foods from many cultures as does my family.  Often, we have cooked Cajun for them, so my wife said we should do something different.

So Sunday night became Mexican night.  You will see many Mexican posts this week all from this meal.  Now we love guacamole in our house.  We throw it together all the time.  When the avocados are cheap – $1 or less, we are buying them and making guacamole.  I wanted to try a little something different.  My daughter, the baker, said we should google Marcela Valladolid from the Food Network.  So I did and most of this meal is thanks to her recipes.

Ingredients (adapted from Marcela Valladolid):
1  bunches fresh cilantro diced
1 avocado
3 green onions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 Serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 cup cold water, divided
2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
Crackers, for serving, recipe follows

Directions (most of these directions are taken directly from Marcela – I left her directions in Italics)

 

Place the cilantro, green onions, cream cheese, salt, lime juice, and chile in a food processor and purée until smooth.

 

Pour 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit for a few minutes.

Place the remaining 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the softened gelatin and whisk until the gelatin has dissolved.

Add the gelatin to the mixture in the food processor, pulsing until pureed and thoroughly blended.

Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.  I let mine set overnight.

Run a small, sharp knife tip around the edge of each mousse. I then used (I don’t know what you call it) a spreader we use for baking.  Drop on to a small plate and surround with crackers.  Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.  Serve with Crackers.