Frozen Tomato Salad

A savoury tomato ice served as a salad course, typical of early twentieth-century entertaining. The original gives no quantities for the seasonings and no freezing time, so the notes below fill in what a modern cook needs.

• "Cooked tomatoes"This means stewed or canned tomatoes rather than raw ones; fresh tomatoes stewed down will do as well. Use enough canned tomato -- about three 14.5 oz cans -- pushed through a sieve to leave the skins and seeds behind, to end up with the quart of pulp called for.
• Seasoning amountsNone are given. For a quart of strained pulp, start with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, a generous pinch of paprika, a scant grating of nutmeg and the zest of half a lemon. Season more strongly than tastes right at room temperature, since freezing mutes both salt and acid.
• The hinge: texturePoured straight into a mould and left alone, tomato pulp freezes to a solid brick of ice. Churn it in an ice cream machine, or freeze in a shallow pan and stir hard with a fork every 30 minutes until it is a firm slush, then pack it into the moulds.
• MouldsHinged two-piece pewter or tin ice moulds in fruit shapes were sold for this purpose and are now collected. Small ramekins, silicone hemisphere moulds or plain custard cups work; dip the mould briefly in warm water to unmould.
• Freezing timeIn a home freezer at 0F, allow 3 to 4 hours in small moulds. The original presumably assumed moulds packed in ice and salt, which may give a softer set.
• "Serve at once"This is not decoration. A tomato ice with no fat or stabiliser weeps and slumps within a few minutes on the plate. Mould and unmould at the last moment, spoon over the mayonnaise, and take it straight to the table.
• MayonnaiseThin commercial mayonnaise slightly with lemon juice or cream so it coats rather than sits in a lump. Serve on crisp lettuce if you want the plate to hold together.
• YieldA quart of pulp fills six small moulds, enough for a salad course for six.