Tomato Aspic

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Rosemary Zwick of Cape Town, South Africa where groaners
abound:

Q: What happens to a grape when an elephant steps on it?

A: It lets out a little whine.

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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If the tomatoes in your garden haven't ripened yet, they soon will,
and this week we'll be enjoying the best our gardens have to offer.
We'll also be talking some about the health benefits of tomatoes and
the anti-oxidant lycopene which they contain, but meanwhile, here is
the lineup for a week of tomato recipes:

Monday's Starter
Tomato Aspic

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Tomatoes Stuffed with Corn and Crab Meat

Wednesday's Side Dish
Scalloped Tomatoes

Thursday's Entree
Fresh Tomato Sauce

Friday's Dessert
Green Tomato and Apple Pie

Food snobs might turn up their noses at today's recipe, considering it
a relic from a bygone age, but a good tomato aspic is still an
unusual, tasty, healthy, and refreshing dish. Maybe it's time for a
comeback.

Tomato Aspic

4 cups (1 L) cored and quartered fresh tomatoes
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
1 bay (laurel) leaf
10 whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped onion
2 Tbs (30 ml) lemon juice
1 Tbs (15 ml) sugar
1 Tbs (15 ml) salt
2 Tbs (30 ml) unflavored gelatin dissolved in
1/2 cup (125 ml) cold water
2 Tbs (30 ml) dry sherry or Marsala wine (optional)
Optional ingredients:
Crumbled blue or feta cheese
Small cooked shrimp
Sliced avocado
Sliced olives
Chopped celery
Sliced hard-cooked eggs
Chopped dill pickles

Combine the tomatoes, water, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns, onion,
lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil over
moderate heat. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve (or several layers of
cheesecloth for a clearer aspic) and discard the solids, reserving the
liquid. Stir the gelatin mixture and the optional sherry into the
liquid while still hot and add enough water to make 4 cups (1 L).
Ladle into a decorative mold or individual custard cups or ramekins.
Chill until set, about 2 hours. If desired, you may add optional
ingredients by filling the mold or cups about 1/3 full. Chill until
firm and add the optional ingredients of your choice, followed by the
remaining liquid and a second chilling. Unmold by dipping the
mold into warm water before inverting on a serving plate. Serves
6 to 8.
Received on Mon May 17 03:47:02 2004