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Pea Salad
Drain and press through a sieve 1 can of green peas. Dissolve a box of gelatine in a little cold water, then stir into the peas and cook over the fire until well heated. Season with 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a little onion juice. Stand in a cold place for two hours, and serve with the following dressing. Put the yolks of 2 eggs into a double boiler with 2 tablespoonfuls each of stock and oil. When thick, take from the fire and season with 1 tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, 1 chopped olive, and a little parsley.
This is a molded pea aspic with a warm egg-and-oil dressing, in the style of the turn-of-the-century "salad" that owed more to the mold cupboard than to the lettuce bowl. The gelatine quantity is the one figure to treat with suspicion.
- "A box of gelatine"Period boxes of granulated gelatine varied, commonly somewhere around half an ounce to an ounce, and recipes of the day often called for a half box to set two or three cups of liquid. Against a single can of peas a whole box would give a stiff, sliceable block rather than a tender one; two teaspoons to a scant tablespoon suits the amount of puree here. The original measure is genuinely ambiguous, so judge by volume of puree, not by package.
- Soften first, then dissolveSprinkle the gelatine over a few tablespoons of cold water and let it stand five minutes until swollen before it goes into the peas. Dropping dry granules into the hot puree gives grainy threads that never disperse.
- Heat, do not boil"Cook over the fire until well heated" means bringing the mixture only to the point where the gelatine is fully dissolved, well short of a boil. Prolonged boiling is generally held to weaken the set and to dull the green.
- The can of peasA modern 15 oz can drains to roughly 9 or 10 oz, giving something over a cup of thick puree. Press through a sieve as directed, or blend and then sieve; the skins are what make the difference between velvety and gritty.
- Onion juiceGrate a peeled onion on a fine grater and squeeze the pulp through a cloth. Half a teaspoon is plenty for this quantity.
- Molding and chillingPour into a wetted mold or small cups. Two hours in a modern refrigerator is a minimum; four hours gives a clean unmolding. Dip the mold briefly in warm water and invert onto greens.
- The dressingThis is a thin cooked custard, not mayonnaise. Whisk constantly in the top of the double boiler over barely simmering water until it coats the spoon, then take it off at once; the yolks will scramble if pushed. Stock means a light unsalted chicken or veal broth, and the vinegar goes in off the heat so it does not split the eggs.
- YieldAbout four small molds, or one small mold serving four as a first course or side salad.