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Vegetable Salad in Jelly
Cut 2 1/2 cupfuls of cold boiled vegetables into fancy shapes with your vegetable cutter. Cook 1 cupful of water and 1/4 cupful of sugar until they boil, then add 1/4 box of gelatine, soaked in 1/2 cupful of water. Pour over the vegetables and let stand until firm and cold. Serve on lettuce leaves and pour over mayonnaise dressing.
A jellied vegetable salad of the granulated-gelatine era, when a clear mould was the mark of a careful cook. Two things need translating: the gelatine measure and the sugar.
- "1/4 box of gelatine"A box of granulated gelatine of this period generally held about an ounce, divided into four envelopes, though sizes differed between makers. A quarter box is therefore roughly one modern envelope (1/4 oz, about 2 1/4 teaspoons), enough to set about 2 cups of liquid; here it has only 1 1/2 cups to work on, which should give a firm, slice-able jelly.
- Do not boil the gelatineSoak it in the 1/2 cupful of cold water until spongy, then stir it into the hot syrup off the heat until fully dissolved. Prolonged boiling can weaken the set.
- The sugarA 1/4 cupful in 1 1/2 cups of liquid makes a distinctly sweet jelly, which was the fashion. Modern palates usually want part of it replaced with a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar or lemon juice and a good pinch of salt, which also sharpens the vegetables.
- Which vegetables"Cold boiled vegetables" would cover things like carrot, turnip, beetroot, green beans, peas and cauliflower — cooked firm, not soft, or the cutter tears them. Keep beetroot separate until the last moment or it will bleed pink through the whole mould.
- Vegetable cutterThe tiny aspic cutters this calls for are still sold; failing that, cut carrot and turnip into neat 1/4-inch dice and slice beans on the diagonal. Uniform pieces are the point, since the jelly is transparent.
- Setting itArrange the vegetables in a wetted mould or individual cups, pour the cool but still liquid jelly over, and chill 3 to 4 hours. Pouring while hot floats everything to the top; letting the jelly thicken slightly first holds the pattern.
- Turning outDip the mould in warm water for a few seconds and invert onto the lettuce. A rinsed, cold plate lets you nudge the jelly into place without tearing it.
- YieldRoughly 3 to 4 cupfuls of finished salad, depending on how closely the vegetables pack — four servings as a first course, six as a side.