Tomato Aspic



 This is a salad that was very popular when I was in high school and it’s probably that long since I’ve made it.  We really liked this version from "Gluten-Free Made Simple" – the extra crunchy vegetables made this an attractive and delicious way to get your veggies.  It didn't have that fuzzy thick tomato sauce texture I remember not liking especially well.
This recipe was much better than I remembered and my husband, who had never eaten aspic, couldn’t figure out why it had fallen out of favor if it was this good.  It would be very pretty in a ring mold or fancy mold for the buffet table.  The book gives suggestions for gluten-free products so you’re sure you are OK.                   
                               Tomato Aspic
  3           ounces  Lemon Gelatin Powder -- gluten free like Jell-O
  1 1/4    cups  Boiling Water
  5 1/2    fluid ounces  V-8® Vegetable Juice -- gluten-free
  1 1/2    tablespoons  Vinegar -- gluten free
     1/2    teaspoon  Salt
     1/8    teaspoon  Tabasco Sauce
               dash  Ground Cloves
  3           large  Celery ribs
     1/4    cup  Olives With Pimiento or Black Olives -- sliced, gluten-free
     1/4    cup  Carrot -- shredded
     1/4    cup  Mayonnaise -- gluten-free like Hellman's or Mrs. Clark's
  1           teaspoon  Chives -- chopped
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  Stir in V-8, vinegar, salt, hot pepper salt and cloves.
Chill about 15 minutes or until thick but not set.  Meanwhile, slice celery, after splitting stalks into 4 lengthwise pieces.
When gelatin is thick, remove from refrigerator and fold in the celery, olives and carrots.
Pour mixture into molds, like 6 ounce custard cups.  Refrigerate until set.
In small bowl, mix mayonnaise and chives.  Remove gelatin from molds and top with mayonnaise mixture.
6 Servings
2012 Cost:  $3.19 or 54¢ per serving
Per Serving: 131 Calories; 8g Fat (50.6% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 389mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

6 comments:

  1. My former mother-in-law made this on occasion and it's amazing. I remember the aspics of the 50's and 60's and they weren't all spectacular. But this recipe is amazing. I think if you call by something else before you try to serve it to friends and family, everyone will give it a chance and love it!

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  2. A very similar recipe has been our family's favorite holiday recipe - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. My grandmother, my mother and I each made it and I found our family's original recipe noted in one of my grandmother's Presbyterian Women's cookbooks dated 1939. Our recipe is very similar to yours, so I know it has the same tangy, lovely taste.

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    1. Well, we loved this recipe, and I remember not liking a aspic at all as a teenager! Just saying!

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  3. Is is really just 5 1/2 ounces of V8?

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    1. Yes, I checked my recipe again. I don't have any V-8 in my pantry right now, but I have a couple of small cans of Campbell's tomato juice...that is the size of the small individual can now, I guess. So you won't have any leftover.
      They want the gelatin set enough to unmold, which means a little less liquid, and the veggies need a stiffer set too.
      It's delicious, and I never liked aspic as a teenager.

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  4. Oh my goodness - tomato aspic! Unlike many, I loved it as a child (mid 1950s). There was a canned version (like cranberry sauce - but for the other 364 days) and that was on our table regularly. It was sliced - in rounds & served on a lettuce leaf, topped with mayo or cottage cheese. I wish it was still around😋

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