Mousseline… It almost sounds like a beautiful girl’s name, doesn’t it? Close! It is the name of a sauce in France, a rich sauce. Because it is emulsified, it is light in appearance and texture, but it is a rich butter and egg sauce. You do not need much per serving. Just a little adds a very nice touch to this asparagus and prosciutto wrap. And, as a little side note here, the mousseline sauce dates all the way back to at least the seventeenth century.
Prosciutto is the Italian word for cured, aged ham. In French, it is "jambon fumé". It usually is the hind leg of the pig. You clean it, sprinkle it with a bit of salt, and you leave it alone for several weeks. The conditions must be favorable. The room must be damp and cold – Damp so that the meat does not get too dry, and cold so that it does not spoil. Interestingly, jambon fumé comes mostly from regions with mountains as it likes the natural environment of the mountains… the Alps, the Pyrenees, and other lower mountains in France. After several weeks, the salt gets washed off, and the ham is hung for months, up to two years. And that is when you see it hanging above the deli counter at the charcuterie in France, in Spain, in Italy, and other European countries. You drive through those small mountain villages, and you stop randomly, walk to the only bakery to get some fresh bread, cross the street to go to the only charcuterie and there it is! You never forget the amazing smell of the place.
Here in the United States, you see prosciutto mostly … packaged, and it is more difficult to find a good one.
If you would like to try my recipe of Asparagus Mousseline, please look in the “Cook” section of this web site, or just click on the following link: https://www.voilabycoco.com/asparagus-mousseline
Merci, et bon appetit!
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