Jello Recipes
Ham and Vegetable Salad in Aspic
Aspic was first used to stop air from spoiling meat before the days of refrigeration. Today, aspic is used for flavoring and to make dishes, such as this gelatin pea and ham salad, highly decorative. Aspic is made with broth so you can use chicken aspic, tomato aspic, vegetable aspic or another flavor.
Perhaps you have tried a shrimp in aspic jello mold recipe or a vegetable terrine before, or maybe aspic is new to you. Try the following ham and vegetable gelatin dish to surprise your family. Using aspic to arrange salad ingredients makes you look like a professional chef because very few people go to the trouble of using this exciting substance. Remember that all the ingredients will be on show, because aspic is a clear vegetable gelatin, so try to cut everything neatly and the same size or shape.
You can be as creative as you like using aspic, because any ingredients go and you even combine sweet ingredients with savory ones, like you would when making a salad. In the follow recipes, sweet ingredients like peaches and cherries and combined with savory ones like ham and peas. The garnish can be a bed of green salad. Aspic recipes, like this one, are best served very cold, both because of the flavor and because aspic can melt if it gets hot.
Old Fashioned Aspic Salad Recipe
Ingredients -
4 cups cold chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
3 egg whites
2 hardboiled eggs, sliced
½ cup cooked peas
½ cup cooked, diced ham
2 tablespoons sliced maraschino cherries
3 tablespoon sliced canned peaches
2 inches cucumber, diced
2 imitation crab sticks, chopped
Handful chopped parsley
Salad to garnish
Preparation:
Skim the fat from the top of the broth and discard it.
Mix ½ a cup of the broth in a pan with the gelatin to soften and dissolve it. Add the rest of the broth and the egg whites and beat until frothy.
Stirring all the time, bring the mixture to the boil, and then remove it from the heat.
Line a sieve or colander with a clean, damp cloth and strain the mixture into a bowl. Let it stand until it is clear.
Pour ¼ inch of this aspic mixture into four ramekins or small jello molds and refrigerate until set.
Arrange the hard-boiled egg slices on top and pour on more aspic, pushing the egg down so it does not float.
Chill until firm.
Add the peas and more aspic, then repeat the adding aspic process for the peach and cherries, then the ham, the cucumber, the imitation crab and finally the parsley, making sure each level sets before adding the next layer.
Pour the remaining aspic on top and leave the ramekins in the refrigerator to chill and set.
Unmold on to serving plates and garnish with salad.
(Serves 4)
Photo Description:
A lot of people see recipes like this ham and vegetable salad in aspic, and wonder how they are made. Actually, there is no trick to it at all. You simply add the layers of ingredients in stages. When making a fruit jello recipe, you add the fruit when the jello is thick so it floats and a similar principle applies to this recipe. You can see how the ingredients are arranged in layers, giving this old-fashioned aspic salad recipe a traditional and elegant look.
The Best Savory Jello Recipes
If you are used to eating sweet jello desserts, you might find the concept of a vegetable salad or a ham salad in gelatin a bit odd. Actually, an aspic salad recipe makes a great appetizer and using gelatin is a nice way to present the ingredients because they look like they are suspended, rather than piled on top of one another. Aspic or vegetable gelatin can be used to make all kinds of savory jello recipes.
Why Make a Vegetable Salad with Aspic?
Aspic does not have much flavor because it is a combination of broth, water, and gelatin, but it does make your vegetable salads look good. Aspic does impart some flavor, because it is made with broth. If you are looking for an unusual way to make salad or you want to impress your guests, why not make an aspic vegetable salad? It will certainly be a talking point at the table!
You might prefer to make a ham salad, beef salad or a mixed salad using aspic and all of these are possible. Just make sure each level of the ingredients sets properly in the aspic before adding more ingredients and another layer of aspic. This applies whether you are using ham, fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, or a mixture of ingredients. With salad recipes you can usually combine a lot of different flavors.
How to Serve Savory Jello Recipes
Serve savory jello as an appetizer, with toast and butter, alongside a main course or as a snack, depending on the occasion and the ingredients. A lot of aspic recipes are colorful and require little garnish. A ham salad in aspic might make a good appetizer and serve some fresh bread or toast on the side. Mandarin and grapefruit segments in aspic can be served with a salad or with a fish or meat dish. Serve aspic dishes in molds or in neatly cut slices, so they look impressive.
