Roquefort and Labneh mousse

I had some leftover Roquefort and I had some labneh in a jar. I had seen a mousse made with Roquefort and cream in ELLE Table (No.67, December 2010 issue); but, hey, I am Lebanese, I eat labneh and I like to play in the kitchen, so that’s what I came up with.

P.S: Alice (my 16-year old) did not like it, because she is not crazy about Roquefort. Fine, make it without it! Add red pepper paste or something!

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will yield 3 (5-ounce) ramequins of cheese mousse.

• 1 jar of labneh (or make your own,)
• 2 ounces of Roquefort (preferably, but can substitute any good blue cheese)
• 1 tablespoon  of gelatin in two  tablespoons  of water (can include a teaspoon of lemon juice or rice vinegar in the tablespoon of water)

METHOD:

1. Place the Roquefort and labneh in the food processor. Process till smooth. You should get one pint of cheese mixture.
2. Place the water (with the optional lemon juice)  in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on top; let it rest for a few minutes. Heat in the microwave for 10 seconds or over simmering water to melt the gelatin.
3. Incorporate into the cheese mixture.
4. Pour the cheese mixture into a greased mold and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
5. Tap the cheese out of the mold into a plate. Garnish with spikes of celery or leave as is or make into little mice, if you are so inclined. Serve with crackers  or chips as an appetizer.

NOTE:

I used almonds for the mouse’s ears and feet, radish root for the tail, black peppercorns for the eyes and nose and pumpkin seed for the tongue.