Arbroath Smokie Mousse

Begin with the eggs by placing them in cold water, bringing them up to a fast boil, then timing them for 7 minutes.

Then cool them under a cold running tap and peel off the shells.  Now remove the skin and bones from the smokies (they will come away very easily), then flake the flesh into small pieces and chop the eggs similarly. Next soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl in cold water and in a medium saucepan, place the butter, milk and flour. Whisk these continuously together over a medium heat so the mixture will gradually thicken as it comes up to a simmer. Then leave it on the barest simmer for 3–4 minutes, stirring often.

After that remove it from the heat, squeeze the excess water from the gelatine then whisk the gelatine into the hot sauce to dissolve it – which will happen quite quickly. Now transfer the sauce to a bowl, let it cool for about 10 minutes before stirring in the mayonnaise and cayenne and seasoning well. Next stir in the smokie pieces, eggs, capers and parsley, then finally fold in the whipped cream.  Divide the mixture equally between the ramekins, cover them with clingfilm and chill for several hours.

When you want to serve them, remove from the fridge 30 minutes before, then slide a small palette knife round the edge of each one and turn out onto serving plates. Give each one a dusting of cayenne and a sprinkling of capers on top and garnish with watercress.