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Fishball Salad with Tomato Jelly
Pull into bits sufficient salt codfish to measure one cupful; wash, pare and dice sufficient raw potatoes to measure one pint; put both in a saucepan of boiling water and boil until the potatoes are done; drain well and mash thoroughly; beat in them one teaspoonful of butter, one beaten egg and a nice seasoning of pepper. Mold in balls the size of large marbles, dip each into slightly beaten egg, roll in fine bread crumbs, fry golden brown in smoking hot fat, and drain thoroughly on unglazed paper, then set away until cold.
In a saucepan place one-half can of tomatoes, one small slice of onion, one small bay leaf, four cloves, very little mace, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter of a teaspoonful of paprika, and seven drops of onion juice. Simmer for fifteen minutes, add one-third of a box of gelatine which has been soaked in one-third of a cupful of water, stir until dissolved and press through a fine sieve. Add two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar and pour into a wetted shallow pan. When firm, turn out carefully and cut into blocks. Marinate the fish balls with a French dressing. Arrange a bed of lettuce in the salad dish, pile on it the fish balls, garnish with the cubes of jelly. Serve with mayonnaise.
A cold composed salad built from two make-ahead components: fried salt cod balls and a spiced tomato aspic. Both need to be fully chilled before assembly, so plan on starting the day before.
- Salt cod needs soaking firstSalt cod needs freshening -- the recipe says only to wash the fish. Hard-dried salt cod is usually soaked in cold water, changed several times, before use; boiling it with the potatoes also draws out some of the salt. How long a soak it needs depends on the cut and how heavily it is cured.
- A pint of potatoesOne pint diced raw potato is about 2 cups, roughly 10-12 oz, or two medium potatoes. By volume the mixture runs about two parts potato to one part cod.
- One-third of a box of gelatineBox sizes varied; a box is commonly reckoned at about an ounce of granulated gelatine, so one-third is on the order of a tablespoon, somewhat more than one modern envelope. The size of a period can of tomatoes is likewise uncertain and generally larger than a modern one, so the setting strength may need adjusting.
- Dry the balls before fryingMashed potato mixture that is at all wet will burst in the fat. Drain the boiled potato and cod thoroughly, mash dry over low heat if needed, and chill the molded balls before breading.
- Fat temperatureThe recipe gives no temperature; "smoking hot fat" indicates deep fat at frying heat, somewhere in the region of 375-390F. Fry in small batches; marble-sized balls color quickly.
- Press the jelly while hotSieve the tomato mixture immediately after the gelatine dissolves. Once it begins to set it will not go through a fine sieve, and the cloves, bay and onion slice must come out.
- Marinate brieflyFrench dressing here means oil and vinegar with salt and pepper. The recipe gives no time; keep it short, as the crumb coating softens as it sits.
- YieldThe recipe states none; a cupful of cod with a pint of potatoes makes a large number of marble-sized balls, well more than two dozen. Assemble at the last minute so the lettuce stays crisp.
Salt cod fishballs were a fixture of the American breakfast table, particularly in New England, where the codfish ball with its potato binder was eaten hot from the pan. What this recipe does is send that thoroughly plain dish into the dining room dressed as a salad, cold, marinated, and garnished with cut cubes of aspic. That move is characteristic of turn-of-the-century American cookery, when commercially granulated gelatine became cheap and reliable and cooks began setting almost anything in it; the shallow pan, the firm block, the neat dice on a bed of lettuce were markers of a careful table. The tarragon vinegar and paprika, and the fussy specification of seven drops of onion juice alongside a slice of raw onion, belong to the same period taste for precision in seasoning delicate cold dishes.