heather_in_sf
Well-known member
(update 2015: my mom always doubles this recipe, who knew?!)
Tomato Aspic
2 c tomato juice
3 Tbl chopped onions
1/8 c chopped celery leaves
1 Tbl dark brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
1/4 c cold water
1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c minced celery
1 1/2 c fresh bay shrimp, drained on a paper towel, chopped lightly if desired
Garnish: boston lettuce leaves, parsley leaves, thinly sliced lemon, a few perfect shrimp, sour cream mixed with horseradish.
Simmer together tomato juice, onion, celery leaves, brown sugar, salt, bay leaf and cloves for five minutes, then strain. Discard aromatics.
Meanwhile, soften gelatin in water and add to hot strained juice and fresh lemon juice. Best to put in a stainless steel bowl. Place in fridge until aspic begins to mound up on the spoon when stirred. (You will have to stick close to the fridge when you notice the mixture starting to thicken. It depends upon your fridge temp how quickly this happens. it can take as long as 20 - 45 minutes. Do not place in a bowl of ice water to hurry things up, what happens is that the aspic thickens along the sides of the bowl and not throughout the bowl and the finished texture is not as good.)
When aspic begins to mound up, stir in minced celery and shrimps. Spoon into molds, cover with Saran and chill. Can be made a day or two ahead. (our molds are ~1/2 cup and are a simple dome shape, or we have the donut shaped ones)
When ready to serve, have a bowl of very hot water, a dish towel and a small sharp knife, plus plates with boston lettuce leaves for the aspics to rest on. Holding the mold with the tips of your fingers, dip into hot water and count 20-30 seconds. Put on clean dish towel, and go around the edges with the sharp knife, then whack side of mold with your hand to see if the aspic loosens from the mold. If not, put back in the very hot water for another 10 seconds and try again. Unmold onto lettuce leaves.
I like to garnish these with a dollop of sour cream mixed with pure horseradish, a leaf of flat leaf parsley and a very thin lemon slice, cut into 1/16"s. So pretty!
This is a delicious tasting aspic, and you can put in crab instead, or put it into a large ring mold and fill the center with more shrimp for a buffet thing. In my early 20's I made these for a bunch of cowboys from Petaluma for Thanksgiving, and they've never had anything like it before, they all ate every bite and raided the fridge for more! I think this recipe makes about 6-8 of our molds, it's funny, we can never get an exact count as they tend to mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night. hmmm, wonder who did that?! LOL
Tomato Aspic
2 c tomato juice
3 Tbl chopped onions
1/8 c chopped celery leaves
1 Tbl dark brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
1/4 c cold water
1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c minced celery
1 1/2 c fresh bay shrimp, drained on a paper towel, chopped lightly if desired
Garnish: boston lettuce leaves, parsley leaves, thinly sliced lemon, a few perfect shrimp, sour cream mixed with horseradish.
Simmer together tomato juice, onion, celery leaves, brown sugar, salt, bay leaf and cloves for five minutes, then strain. Discard aromatics.
Meanwhile, soften gelatin in water and add to hot strained juice and fresh lemon juice. Best to put in a stainless steel bowl. Place in fridge until aspic begins to mound up on the spoon when stirred. (You will have to stick close to the fridge when you notice the mixture starting to thicken. It depends upon your fridge temp how quickly this happens. it can take as long as 20 - 45 minutes. Do not place in a bowl of ice water to hurry things up, what happens is that the aspic thickens along the sides of the bowl and not throughout the bowl and the finished texture is not as good.)
When aspic begins to mound up, stir in minced celery and shrimps. Spoon into molds, cover with Saran and chill. Can be made a day or two ahead. (our molds are ~1/2 cup and are a simple dome shape, or we have the donut shaped ones)
When ready to serve, have a bowl of very hot water, a dish towel and a small sharp knife, plus plates with boston lettuce leaves for the aspics to rest on. Holding the mold with the tips of your fingers, dip into hot water and count 20-30 seconds. Put on clean dish towel, and go around the edges with the sharp knife, then whack side of mold with your hand to see if the aspic loosens from the mold. If not, put back in the very hot water for another 10 seconds and try again. Unmold onto lettuce leaves.
I like to garnish these with a dollop of sour cream mixed with pure horseradish, a leaf of flat leaf parsley and a very thin lemon slice, cut into 1/16"s. So pretty!
This is a delicious tasting aspic, and you can put in crab instead, or put it into a large ring mold and fill the center with more shrimp for a buffet thing. In my early 20's I made these for a bunch of cowboys from Petaluma for Thanksgiving, and they've never had anything like it before, they all ate every bite and raided the fridge for more! I think this recipe makes about 6-8 of our molds, it's funny, we can never get an exact count as they tend to mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night. hmmm, wonder who did that?! LOL
