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Fish Salad Moulded in Aspic
Cut Cover the bottom of a mould with aspic to the depth of one-fourth an inch. Set the mould in ice water, and, when the aspic is set, arrange upon it a decoration of cooked vegetables cut in shapes with French cutter, or fashion a conventional design or some flower. Dogwood blossoms provide a simple pattern, and one easily carried out. the four petals from a thin slice of cooked turnip and the centre of the blossom from carrot or lemon peel. Fasten each piece in place with liquid jelly, and, when set, cover with more jelly. To decorate the sides of the mould, take the figures on the point of a skewer, dip in jelly, then set in position against the chilled sides of the mould, and they will remain in place. After the jelly covering the figures on the bottom of the mould has "set," place a smaller mould in the centre of the aspic in the first, and fill this with ice and water. Pour in aspic to fill the space about the smaller mould, and, when this aspic is firm, dip out the water and ice. Fill with warm water and quickly remove the mould. Separate a pound of cooked fish into flakes, add half a cup of cold cooked peas, three or four gherkins, cut very fine, and three tablespoonfuls of capers. Mix together and then mix with one cup of mayonnaise made with jelly; with this fill the vacant space in the mould. When ready to serve, dip the mould very quickly into warm water, letting the water rise to the top of the mould, and invert over a serving-dish; remove the mould, and garnish with lettuce, tiny gherkins cut to resemble fans, blocks of aspic, or aspic moulded in shells, and mayonnaise.
An Edwardian showpiece: a decorated aspic shell lined with jelly and filled with dressed fish. The text as printed has a line of type out of place — the words "Cut ... the four petals from a thin slice of cooked turnip" belong with the dogwood-blossom sentence, not at the head of the paragraph. Read it that way and the sequence makes sense.
- The hinge: work cold, in thin layersEvery stage depends on the previous layer being fully set and the mould itself being cold. Pour aspic only when it is syrupy and barely liquid, not warm, or it will melt the layer beneath and float your decorations out of position.
- No aspic recipe is givenThis entry assumes the aspic from elsewhere in the book. A workable modern equivalent is one envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) of powdered gelatin per 1 3/4 to 2 cups of well-flavoured clear fish or chicken stock — firm enough to unmould and slice, but still tender.
- "French cutter"A set of small tinned cutters, sold today as aspic or truffle cutters. A sharp paring knife and a small round piping tip will do the same work on turnip and carrot slices.
- "Mayonnaise made with jelly"This is mayonnaise collée: mayonnaise into which liquid but cooling aspic has been stirred, so the filling holds a cut edge. Add the jelly a spoonful at a time to mayonnaise at room temperature; if the jelly is hot the emulsion will thin and may break.
- The nested-mould trickThe inner mould weighted with ice water is a period method for lining a shell with jelly. If you would rather not fuss with it, set the outer mould in ice and build the lining by pouring in a little aspic, swirling it up the sides, and repeating until the coat is about a quarter inch thick.
- Unmoulding"Very quickly" means only a few seconds in warm — not hot — water, then a firm inversion. Longer and the decorated surface slumps. Wiping the outside of the mould with a cloth wrung out in hot water is gentler still.
- The fishA pound of cooked, cooled flakes: salmon, halibut, cod or haddock all work, poached and drained well. Wet fish will weep and loosen the jelly.
- Eggs in the dressingThe mayonnaise is uncooked and the finished mould is never heated. Use pasteurized eggs or good commercial mayonnaise if you are serving anyone who should avoid raw egg, keep the mould refrigerated until it goes to the table, and eat it the day it is made.
- YieldThe recipe gives no mould size; the pound of fish, the peas and the cup of mayonnaise make a generous filling, serving about six as a luncheon dish with the lettuce and aspic garnish.
Moulded aspics of this elaborate kind sat at the top of the cold-buffet repertoire that professional chefs codified in the nineteenth century and that American cookbook writers such as Janet McKenzie Hill, generally identified as the founding editor of the Boston Cooking-School Magazine, passed on to households with a cook and a good supply of ice. The technique is essentially the pastry-chef's approach applied to fish: a clarified jelly, decorations cut from vegetable slices, and mayonnaise collée to bind a filling that will hold its shape when turned out. Its appearance here reflects the era's fascination with cold, sculptural food — a chilled decorated mould signalled both a well-run kitchen and access to refrigeration, and dishes like this were the natural centrepiece for the summer luncheons and card parties that fill books of salads and chafing-dish cookery. The dogwood-blossom pattern is a homely American touch on a French method, a reminder that the elaborate garnish was expected to be within reach of an ambitious home cook rather than a hotel brigade.