It is not always easy to trace the history of a culinary achievement. Take, for example, aspic, the subject of this month's leçon.
The word “aspic” is the French name for spike or spikenard, a lavender-flavored herb which was one of the pot herbs added to gelatin in the early days of its use. Gelatin itself was discovered by Denis Papio, a 17th-century French scientist, who accidentally found it in the course of his experiments with a steam digester in 1679. The steam digester, incidentally, was the forerunner of today's pressure cookers.
It was Carême who evolved from Papin's gelatin the savory, attractive dishes that stand in all their shimmering elegance on today's buffet tables. More and more, as the years roll on, gelatin is associated with desserts rather than with main dishes. But in hot July weather, a clear, sparkling aspic of meat or fish has infinite appetite appeal, and it is with such aspics that we concern ourselves in this article.
In my very small town in France, we knew little about aspics. Such grand dishes seemed surrounded by an aura of city sophistication, possibly because it was only in the city that one could be sure of an adequate supply of ice. Yet small-town cbarcutiers have always included among their delicatessen meats headcheese, which is, of course, a savory loaf of cooked meat from a pig's head, molded in gelatin derived by cooking the pig's feet.
Cold jellied dishes have always been popular in the great houses of Europe and wherever eating is considered a fine art, and there are extant pictures of elaborate molded masterpieces that date back to the early nineteenth century. These intricate designs look hours of painstaking work, and while they were most effective artistically, we would not today consider their artificial appearance very appetizing.
Cold chicken and fish dishes in aspic were part of the regular cuisine at the Paris Ritz when I was there in the early 1900's, but they were made only to order. It was not until 1906, at the London Ritz, that 1 first saw the cold buffet used for banquets and parties. I remember one outstanding party directed by Monsieur Malley. our chef des cuisines, for the distinguished Monsieur Sebastopoulo, who was first secretary of the Russian embassy. The guest list included the entire diplomatic corps of London, as well as all the members of European and Asiatic royalty, nobility, and aristocracy who were in London for the “season.” The rooms were decorated to resemble a Russian winter, with artificial snow and ice, and intricate lighting effects. For the late supper that followed the entertainment and dancing. Monsieur Sebastopoulo had ordered a sumptuous buffet, including truite en gelée. We molded the trout in jelly and presented them handsomely on silver servers. But Mr. Sebastopoulo was not pleased. He waved our platters away. Expense? N'imporie! The trout were to be very tiny; they should be molded in a crystal-clear aspic flavored with Chablis; and they should be so presented in great shallow glass bowls that they would look as if they were swimming about in an aquarium. The effect, when it was accomplished, was truly startling!
This party and others of the sort served me well as inspiration when I came to New York to take charge in the kitchens of the old Ritz. Our hotel was one of the first, if not the first, to make the cold buffet a regular summertime attraction. Almost any food can be prepared with aspic—meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, vegetables. And for the hostess who plans to do most of the preparation for a party herself, there is the advantage that most of the work can he done well ahead of time. leaving for the last minute only such minor tasks as slicing and garnishing.
An aspic may be made in several ways. The simplest way. of course, is to add unfavored gelatin to cunned consommè or bouillon. Most gelatin today comes in small envelopes that contain enough to congeal from 1 ¾ to 2 cups liquid. First soften the gelatin for 5 minutes in cold liquid, then dissolve it in boiling hot liquid. If you use a canned consommé or bouillon, soften the gelatin in ¼ cup cold water and dissolve it in 1 ½ cups boiling bouillon.
The professional chef always makes his own aspic, of course, from a soup stock which he clarifies with chopped lean beef and egg white. To ensure that the Stock will jelly to the desired stiffness, he must put into the soup kettle something, such as calf's feet, that is richer in gelatin than ordinary bones, or, if these are unavailable, two or three veal shin bones instead of each calf's foot specified. Or he may use six or seven chicken feet, which have the gelatin content of one calf's foot.
Calf's Feet for Aspic
Have the butcher split the feet. Wash them well, put them in a kettle, add salted water to cover and bring the water to a boil. Cook the bones for about 5 minutes, until the scum stops coming to the top. Rinse the bones well and add them to the soup kettle.
Chicken Feet for Aspic
Chop off the nails and discard them. Wash the feet and put them in a kettle with salted water to cover. Bring the water to a boil. When the skin loosens, plunge the feet into cold water, remove the skins and discard them. Add the cleaned feet to the soup kettle.
It is a sensible precaution to test aspic to make sure that it will have the proper stiffness. Chill a little of the aspic in the refrigerator; if it dots not stiffen. it may be reduced further or it may be stiffened with gelatin. Use 1 envelope gelatin, softened in ¼ cup cold water. to jell 1 quart stock that has congealed lightly, but is not stiff enough.
Aspic has four uses: it is used to bind other ingredients or to line a mold into which other ingredients are to he packed; it is cut into dice or chopped or rubbed through a coarse sieve and used for garnishing, and, of course, it is used to coat conked meats, poultry, or fish.
To achieve the best results in handling aspics, have all ingredients and utensils very cold. To line a mold, bank it with crushed ice. When the cold aspic is swirled around the inside of the mold, it will congeal almost immediately. To make a thicker Coating, add another layer of aspic. Decorations should be affixed between layers of aspic.
A piece of meat, fish, or poultry that is to be coated with aspic should be so thoroughly chilled that the aspic begins to set as soon as it touches the surface. The aspic should still be liquid, but it should be on the verge of congealing.
As a final precaution, keep the finished aspic in the refrigerator until the last possible moment before serving. If the part)' is a large one. use two small serving dishes, rather than one large one, for each aspic preparation, so that the second serving can be kept cold in the refrigerator.
Aspic
Put in a large kettle 3 pounds each of beef bones and veal shin bones. 6 calf's feet (above), 3 carrots, 3 onions and 3 leeks, all sliced, 1 stalk celery, 2 tablespoons salt and 2 gallons water. Bring the liquid to a boil, skim it and boil gently about 5 hours, skimming as needed. Strain the stock, cool it and remove the fat from the surface. Clarify as fallows: Beat slightly 4 egg whites, mix them with 1 pound lean chopped beef and add the mixture to the cold broth. Add 12 peppercorns, 1 tablespoon salt, 4 sprigs each of tarragon and chervil, 6 sprigs of parsley and 1 bay leaf. Heat slowly, stirring constantly just until the boiling point is reached, and simmer the Stock very gently for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through fine muslin and add 1 glass (4 ounces) Sherry or Madeira. If calf's feet were not available, add to the hot strained broth 2 tablespoons gelatin softened in ½ cup cold water. Chill the aspic. If it does not congeal, reheat it and add more gelatin. When ready to use, melt the aspic by reheating.
Chicken Aspic
To the above recipe for aspic, add a fowl and some cleaned and skinned chicken feet.
Mayonnaise Cbaud-Froid (Jellied Mayonnaise)
Soften 2 tablespoons gelatin in ½ cup cold water and dissolve it over hot water. Fold the gelatin into 2 cups mayonnaise (May, 1956) and mix all together well.
Chaud-Froid Blanc (Jellied While Sauce)
Soften 2 tablespoons gelatin in ½ cup cold water. Bring 2 cups sauce veluté or sauce suprême (both September, 1955) to a boil and dissolve the gelatin in the sauce. Add 1 cup heavy cream and correct the seasoning with Salt. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Just before it congeals use the sauce to coal cold chicken, eggs and other foods suited to a white sauce.
Cbaud-Froid Brun (Jellied Brown Sauce)
Soften 2 tablespoons gelatin in ½ cup cold water. Combine 2 cups brown sauce (October, 1955) with 1 cup stock or consomme, bring the sauce to a boil and skim it well. Dissolve the gelatin in the sauce. Add I glass (3 ounces) Madeira or Sherry and strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Just before it congeals use the sauce to coat cod braised beef, duckling, and similar foods.
Légumes en Gelée (Vegetables in Aspie)
Combine cold cooked peas, tiny white turnips and carrots cut in small dice or basonnets (little sticks), green beans, sliced slantwise, and tiny lima beans. and add enough mayonnaise chaud-froid to hold the mixture together. Line small cylindrical molds with clear aspic on the point of congealing, and set the molds in the refrigerator. When the aspic has congealed, fill the molds with the vegetable mixture, leaving space at the top for a layer of clear aspic. Chill until the aspic is set. Unmold the salad and use to garnish cold main dishes.
Oeufs Pocbés Louisiana (Poached Eggs Louisiana)
Slice off the tops of 2 large or 3 medium green peppers and remove the pith and seeds. Mash the yolks of A or 5 hard-cooked eggs and add to them ½ cup chopped red pimentos and ½ cup mayonnaise chaud-froid. Pack this mixture into the peppers and chill them. Meanwhile poach 6 or 8 eggs and trim and chill them. With a sharp knife, cut the stuffed peppers into ½-inch slices and arrange a poached egg on each slice. Finish with a coat of clear aspic.
Filets de Soles en Gelée à la Parisienne (Filet of Sole in Aspic à la Parisienne)
Poach 6 filets of sole in court-bouillon (March, 1955) for about 15 minutes. or until the fish is cooked. Lay the filets on a rack to drain and cool. Coat each fish with mayonnaise chaud-froid. Chill until the sauce is set and repeat to make a thicker coating. Use 1 to 1 ½ cups sauce in all. Decorate the fish with tarragon leaves or truffles cut into shapes, or make daisies with the whites of hard-cooked eggs for petals and sieved hard-cooked egg yolks for centers, fixing the decorations in the sauce. Chill and coat with clear aspic. Combine cooked vegetables cut in fine dice with mayonnaise chaud-froid and arrange this salad on a serving dish. Lay the fish filets on the vegetables. Garnish with little cucumber baskets made by cutting cucumbers into 1 ½-inch lengths and scooping the slices our about 2/3 from the top. Fill the baskets with tiny cherry tomatoes dressed with vinaigrette sauce (March, 1956). Or hollow out small tomatoes and fill them with cucumber salad. Or arrange slices of hard-cooked egg on tomato slices and place a ripe olive in the center of each
Tomatoes Filled with Cucumber Salad
Peel tomatoes and cut off the tops and reserve them. Squeeze very gently to remove seeds and juice. Slice 1 or 2 cucumbers very thin, sprinkle with salt and let stand 10 or 15 minutes. Drain and dry the cucumbers in a towel. Dress the cucumbers with vinaigrette sauce (March, 1956) and sprinkle them with a little chopped parsley. Fill the tomatoes with this mixture; replace the tops.
Fricandeau de Veau Braisée en Gelée Uellied Braised Veal)
Have the butcher remove the bone from a 3 to 4-pound piece of good white veal cut from the center part of the leg and lard the top of the meat with small strips of fat salt pork Have the bone sawed into pieces. In the bottom of a casserole, spread the bones. 1 onion, sliced. 1 carrot, sliced, and a faggot made by tying together 1 piece of celery stalk. 4 sprigs of parsley, 1 small bay leaf and a sprig of thyme. Season the veal with ½ teaspoon salt and lay it on top of the vegetables. Spread 1 tablespoon butter (or veal or beef fat) over the meat. Braise the meat in a hot oven (425° F.) for 20 minutes, until the meat is golden brown and the vegetables begin to cook. Add 1 cup chicken stock, cover the casserole and continue to cook the meat about 2 hours, basting it often, until the liquid is reduced to half the original quantity. Add ½ cup more stock and continue to cook until the meat is tender, basting often. Add a little more stock if necessary. Uncover the casserole and cook the meat for 15 to 20 minutes longer, basting the meat frequently to glaze it. If there is not enough liquid, add a little bouillon.
Remove the meat to a serving dish and let it cool Discard the faggot from the casserole and strain the sauce through cheesecloth. There should be less than a cup of syrupy liquid. Cool this sauce. and if it doesn't jell, reheat it and add 1 tablespoon gelatin softened in ¼ cup cold water. Slice enough meat for one serving for each guest and arrange the slices and the unsliced meal on a serving dish. Garnish the platter with cooked carrots or carrot balls and small cooked white onions, glazed with melted butter and a sprinkling of sugar. Coat the meat and the vegetables with the cooled sauce and chill until the coating is firm. Then coat all with clear aspic.
Suprêmes de Volaille Pompadour (Rreait of Chicken Pompadour)
Simmer a 3 ½ to 4-pound chicken until it is tender, cool it and remove the breast meat. Cut each breast filet lengthwise to make three servings. Flatten the filets and crim them evenly. Spread each filet with 1 tablespoon mousse the foie gras (see below), finishing it with a smooth rounded surface. Chill the breasts in the refrigerator.
Soften 1 ½ tablespoons gelatin in ¼ cup cold water and dissolve it in 2 cups hot chicken velouté (September, 1955), colored and seasoned with 2 or 3 tablespoons red sweet paprika. Add ½ cup cream. (Or use 2 ½ cups white chaud-froid sauce, colored and flavored with 2 or 5 tablespoons sweet paprika.) Cool the sauce. Arrange the breasts on a rack and coat them well with the sauce, which should be on the point of congealing Decorate the filets with truffles Cut in decorative shapes and tarragon or chervil leaves. Arrange the decorated filets on a serving dish, chill well and cove: with clear chicken aspic Chill until the aspic is set.
Mousse de Foie Gras
Soften 1 envelope gelatin in 6 tablespoons cold water for 5 minutes. Stir the gelatin over hot water until it is dissolved, remove it from the heat and cool it to room temperature. Mash 1 cup puree of foie gras and force it through a fine sieve. Add to it the dissolved gelatin and 2 or 3 tablespoons whipped cream and mix well.
Terrine de Canard à I'Ancienne (Pâte of Duck)
Remove the skin of a 5-pound duck and reserve it. Cut the breast meat into long thin strips and put them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon chopped shallot or onion, a pinch of thyme. 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper and 1 glass (3 ounces) white wine or Madeira. Remove the meat from the legs and the second joints and saute it lightly in butter. Break up the rest of the duck carcass and put it into a saucepan with 1 carrot, 1 onion, a small leek, a little parsley, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 quart water. Cook slowly, skimming as necessary, to make 1 ½ to 2 cups rich broth.
Season 2 pounds duck livers with salt and pepper and saute them quickly in hot melted butter for about 3 or 4 minutes. The liver should be medium rare. Peel, core and quarter 4 apples and put them in a pan with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon butter and the juice of ½ lemon. Cook slowly until the apples are soft. Put the apples, the sautéed livers and the meat from the legs and second joints Through a fine sieve. Add 1 large egg and correct the seasoning with salt. Line an earthenware casserole with thin slices of fat salt pork and spread the skin of the duct carefully over this. Put in half the liver mixture, then lay the marinated duck meat on this. If desired, the liver nay be dotted with pieces of truffle wrapped in thin slices of fat pork. Cover with the remaining liver mixture and fold over the skin of the duck to enclose the filling. Lay thin slices of fat salt pork over the skin and top with 4 or 5 bay leaves. Covet the casserole, put it in a pan of hot water and cook it for 1 ½ hours in a moderate oven (350° F).
When the pâté is done, the fat that cooks out on top will be very clear. Weight the casserole lightly with a board or plate and cool it thoroughly. Turn the pâté out of the casserole, scrape off all the fat from the outskirt and put the pate back into the casserole, but mm sideup. Decorate with truffles. Soften 1 tablespoon gelatin in ¼ cup cold water and dissolve it in 1 ½ cups of the hot duck broth, strained through fine muslin. Cool the aspic, add 2 tablespoons Madeira or Sherry and pour the Congealing aspic over the pâté. Chill until the jellied broth sets.
Langue de Boeuf en Gelée au Porto (Ox Tongue with Port Wine Jelly)
Boil an ox tongue until it is tender. Cool it, remove the skin, and trim away the butt end and the bones. Put the tongue on a rack and COM it with clear aspic jelly flavored with a little Port and colored with a few drops of red coloring. Chill the tongue well. Coat a serving dish with aspic, place the tongue on it and decorate the platter with truffles and hard-cooked eggs cut in fancy shapes.
Homard Froid Figaro (Cold Lobster Figaro)
Boil 3 lobsters weighing 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds each for 20 to 25 minutes in court-bouillon (March, 1955) or vegetable stock (July, 1955). Cool the lobsters and split them in half lengthwise. Remove the tail meat in one piece and trim it neatly. Chop the claw meat fine, add the tail trimmings, the tomalley (liver), 2 cups fresh crab meat, 1 teaspoon chopped chives, and 1 teaspoon each of chopped parsley, tarragon and chervil. Mix 3 tablespoons chili sauce with 2/3 cup mayonnaise (May, 1956), correct the seasoning and combine the mayonnaise with the sea-food mixture. Fill the empty half shells with this mixture, top with the tail meat and decorate with thin strips of pimento, anchovy filets and capers. Coat the whole with clear aspic and thai. Serve with mayonnaise.