To me, tomato aspic is a very throw-back, southern dish. Some readers may not be familiar with aspic, which is a molded (as in the shape of a mold, not the green gross stuff), gelatinous dish that is savory. Normally aspics are made with meat stock. Molded (again, we are talking shape) sweet jellies are normally referred to as gelatins or gelatin salad (think your family holiday buffet). This aspic recipe is not made with meat stock, but rather with tomato juice.
On a trip to Natchez, we stopped to eat at the Carriage House at Stanton Hall. The Carriage House is a pretty popular spot for lunch and is a big tourist draw. Tomato aspic is on the menu. I ordered a trio of salads, of which tomato aspic was one. It was delicious. Crunchy, spicy and flavorful.
Of course, when I returned home I had to make a tomato aspic! I found a recipe that fit the bill. It was just as delicious as the Carriage House’s recipe, and it was easy! The flavor was spot-on.
If you want to make the aspic, check out the recipe on the Saucy Southerner, by clicking here.
Being the person who loves all recipes easy, I experimented a bit with decreasing the number of ingredients, while still maintaining the flavor. Here is my new and improved version of the above. Let me just say, I love ZingZang Bloody Mary mix, which is evident in this recipe!
You will need:
2 cups Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix
1 1/2 cups green pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
2 packages Knox Unflavored Gelatin
1/3 cup water
Heat the ZingZang, green pepper, celery and onion in a sauce pan until almost boiling. Remove from heat.
Dissolve gelatin in water. Once the gelatin is dissolved, stir into the heated Zing Zang.
Spray a mold(s) or bowl(s) with cooking spray and pour in the aspic.
Cover and place in the refrigerator, making sure the molds are even. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.
Tomato aspic looks lovely served as one large molded salad. It also makes a great presentation as individual servings when dining with seated service.
Even your biggest skeptic will enjoy this recipe!
