Mortadella Mousse

By Florence Fabricant

Mortadella Mousse
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(58)
Comments
Read comments

With blanc de blancs Champagnes, inspiration comes easily. Pop open a tin of caviar, but also consider fat-rich cured meats and cheeses, like an irresistibly delicate, almost buttery mortadella mousse swirled on toast. I puréed diced mortadella, smoothed it with mascarpone and sharpened it with grated Parmesan. Then I recalled a mortadella spread at Osteria Morini, a SoHo restaurant that specializes in the food of Emilia-Romagna, the home of mortadella. Michael White, the chef and an owner, uses ricotta and heavy cream in his spuma di mortadella. Same idea, but I put my money on my mascarpone. I did add his fragrant touch, a pinch of nutmeg. Canapés can be served as is or, with a dusting of extra Parmesan, lightly browned under the broiler.

Featured in: Wines of The Times: A Toast to Versatility

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Ingredients

Yield:About 50 canapés, 8 servings
  • ½pound mortadella in one piece, rind removed
  • ¼cup mascarpone
  • ⅓cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1 ounce)
  • Pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
  • Toast rounds for serving
  • Whole shelled, salted pistachios or capers for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

136 calories; 11 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 437 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Dice mortadella and place in a food processor; grind to a paste. Add the mascarpone, ⅓ cup grated cheese and the nutmeg. Process until blended. Spread on toast and top each with a pistachio or caper, or refrigerate until ready to use.

  2. Step 2

    Alternatively, each canapé without the garnish can be dusted with about a half-teaspoon of grated cheese, arranged on a baking sheet and run under the broiler briefly, about a minute, to lightly brown the top.

Ratings

4 out of 5
58 user ratings
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Comments

Matt

This sounds like fancy “bologna salad”. My grandmother would grind bologna through a meat grinder with some gherkins put it on saltines

Karen

Mortadella is not vegetarian.

Dominique

This is fantastic

Deb

Followed the recipe exactly, as I always do with a new-to-me recipe. Like the other commenters, I found the consistency was not mousse-like, but paste-like. Reminded me of ham salad (aka sandwich paste by husband). Two people said it tasted like liverwurst (which I could see when it was suggested), and they did not like it. I did like it (I love liverwurst), but will have to finish it on my own.

JY

To achieve a mousse-like consistency, I needed to add more mascarpone, parm, olive oil and cold water.

Sweet Swede

I agree with Matt. We always had ground bologna open-face sandwiches at all family parties. I still make it with my homemade bread and butter pickles ground with the bologna and add enough mayonnaise to make it spreadable - yum!!!

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