ONE MORE FEAST DAY!

 

The Reyes Magos bearing gifts, on their way to Bethlehem, as depicted in the Belén, or nativity scene, of the parish church in the village of Mijas. 

Today (January 6) is the last day of the holidays, el Día de los Reyes Magos, also known as Three Kings or Epiphany, when the Kings amble into the village aboard camels or whirl in on helicopters, bringing toys and goodies to children and, if the TV advertising is any indication, perfume to the men and women. One more feast to go.

Traditional for the day is roscón de reyes, made with an egg-rich brioche dough with butter and quite a lot of sugar, flavored with dark rum, grated orange zest and orange blossom water. My roscón, however, is a little fishy. Literally fishy. Instead of a cake, it’s a fish mousse made in a ring mold. 

A savory version of the roscón de reyes, made with minced fish.

Cream makes a rich mousse of two kinds of fish.

The fish mousse can be served hot or cold, garnished as desired.

Salmon Mousse 

Roscón de Salmon 

I used half salmon and half rosada, a mild, white fish. Other fish that could be used are hake, cod, whiting, sole, halibut, snapper. Or, omit the salmon and use white fish plus chopped shrimp for the mousse. Cream adds richness and distinguishes this mousse from your ordinary salmon loaf. 

Season the mousse mixture with a good pinch of a favorite dry herb. I used wild fennel pollen, but you could opt for thyme, tarragon, basil or oregano. If you’re unsure about whether you’ve used enough salt and seasoning, cook a spoonful of the mixture in a small skillet and taste it. 

The recipe as given will fill a 6-cup ring mold or loaf pan. As I didn’t have a ring mold that size, I used a 4-cup ring mold plus 8 (¼-cup) muffin cups. Use a silicone ring mold if you have one. If using an ordinary metal mold, oil the ring mold and line it with plastic wrap, leaving enough to hang over the edges of the mold. 

If you want to get fancy, place lemon slices, strips of pimiento, olives, etc., in the bottom of the mold before ladling the fish-egg mixture into it. When the mousse is unmolded the garnishes will stud the top. 

Or, after unmolding the mousse, garnish it as desired with lemon, olives, capers, chives, strips of piquillo peppers, etc. It’s good hot or cold with sauce, as desired. Hollandaise for super richness. Tartare, piquillo mayonnaise or a simple yogurt-caper mixture. 

Salmon plus white fish for the mousse.

1 pound skinless fillets of white fish

1 pound skinless fillets of salmon

¼ cup parsley

3 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion or leeks

¼ teaspoon smoked pimentón

2 tablespoons white wine

1 cup cream

5 eggs

1 tablespoon water

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cooked carrot, diced

Pinch of crumbled herbs

Chopped lettuce, lemon slices, strips of red pepper, chives, etc., to garnish

Chop fish in food processor.

Cut both kinds of fish into 1-inch pieces. Place the parsley in a food processor and process until it is chopped. Add the pieces of fish, breadcrumbs and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Process until the fish is coarsely ground. 

Heat the oil in a small skillet and sauté the onions on medium heat until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the pimentón. Add the wine and cook 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Stir in the onion and cream from the pan. Add the diced carrot and herbs. Add all of the ground fish mixture. Combine well.

Bake in ring mold.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spoon the fish mixture into the ring mold(s). Fold the plastic wrap, if using, over the top of the mold. Place the mold in a larger oven-safe pan. Add boiling water to half the depth of the mold. 

Bake 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300ºF. Bake until the mousse is set and a thin skewer inserted comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool the mold on a rack for 10 minutes.

Unmold mousse and garnish.

With a thin knife, loosen the edges around the mousse. Place a serving platter on top of the ring. Using a dry towel to protect the hands from heat, carefully invert the mold on top of the platter. Peel off the plastic wrap and discard. Garnish the mousse as desired. 

Or, bake mousse in muffin cups.

Yogurt-Caper Sauce

Salsa de Yogur con Alcaparras

Quick to mix up, this sauce with a little tang goes with the fish mousse whether served hot or cold.

½ cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon chopped scallions or chives

Mix all the ingredients. Serve the sauce at room temperature.

Recipe for a not-quite-traditional roscón de reyes is here.

A recipe for Fish Terrine with Rockfish.

More about the white fish called rosada.