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Olives in Tomato Jelly
In a saucepan put one-half of a can of tomatoes, one small bay leaf, four cloves, one blade of mace, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of paprika and ten drops of onion juice and simmer for twenty-one minutes. Add one-third of a box of gelatine, which has been soaked in one-half cupful of water; stir until dissolved and press through a fine sieve; then add two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar. Rinse very small timbale molds in cold water, stand in the bottom of each three pitted olives, standing them on end. If they fit in well, pour in sufficient of the prepared jelly to cover them, otherwise pour in a little and when set, add enough more to cover. When firm, turn out and serve each on a lettuce leaf and garnish with a drop of mayonnaise on top, passing more mayonnaise with them.
A small savory aspic from the era when every luncheon plate carried something molded. The measurements assume period packaging, so a few need translating before you start.
- A box of gelatinePeriod boxes were commonly one ounce divided into four envelopes, though sizes varied by brand, so one-third of a box is roughly 9 g, or about one and a third modern envelopes. With roughly 1½ to 1¾ cups of total liquid that gives a jelly firm enough to unmold but still tender; if your molds are shallow and wide, err toward the full 10 g.
- Half a can of tomatoesPeriod can sizes varied, from roughly a pound up to a quart, so figure about 1 to 1½ cups of canned tomatoes with their juice. Crushed or whole-peeled both work, since everything goes through a sieve anyway.
- Bloom the gelatine firstThe half cup of water is the soaking liquid, not an addition to the tomato. Let the granules stand in cold water until they swell and look like wet sand, then stir them into the hot spiced tomato off the boil. Boiling gelatine weakens the set.
- Sieve before the vinegarPress the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the cloves, bay, mace and tomato skin, then stir in the tarragon vinegar. Adding acid after the gelatine has dissolved keeps the set predictable and preserves the vinegar's aroma.
- Onion juiceGrate a peeled onion on a fine rasp and press the pulp in a cloth or fine strainer; ten drops is about ⅛ teaspoon. Grated onion left in the mixture would cloud the jelly and be strained out regardless.
- Blade of maceA blade is a whole piece of the dried lacy aril from nutmeg, still sold in spice shops. A pinch of ground mace, about ⅛ teaspoon, is a fair substitute, though the jelly will be less clear.
- Twenty-one minutesThe oddly precise timing is not critical; simmer 15 to 20 minutes to draw out the spice and reduce slightly. Cover the pan loosely so you do not lose too much liquid, or the aspic will set stiff.
- Molds and unmoldingThe very small timbale molds called for here would have held only an ounce or two. Espresso cups, small ramekins or a mini muffin tin do the same job. Rinsing in cold water helps release; a few seconds in warm water and a wiggle of the tip of a knife will free a stubborn one.
- Yield and chillingAbout six to eight small molds. They need at least four hours in the refrigerator, and overnight is better if you intend to turn them out cleanly.
Molded savory jellies were at the height of their respectability when this book was written: granulated gelatine sold in ready-measured boxes had turned aspic from a job requiring boiled calves' feet into an afternoon's work, and cookbooks of the 1890s and 1900s fill whole chapters with tomato jelly, chicken jelly and jellied fish. Small turned-out molds of this kind suited a table where the food had to look composed and be eaten without much cutting. The olives standing on end in the bottom of the mold show the same instinct: the whole point of the dish is that once inverted the pattern reads through the clear red jelly. Tarragon vinegar supplies the sharpness that keeps a spiced tomato aspic from tasting merely like cold soup.