Fish Aspic for New Year's
Description
Perfect for the table and with drinks. To make tasty fish aspic, use not only the meaty fish pieces but also fish trimmings for the stock. These can be heads, tails, small gutted fish, and so on. Simmer them a little longer with the vegetables to develop aroma and a rich flavor. See — it can be served warm or chilled.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients for the aspic. Wash the fish thoroughly, peel the vegetables, and rinse them under water.
- 2
Step 2
Place all the fish, the onion, and the carrot in a pot, along with salt and a bay leaf; you can also add peppercorns. Cover with cold water and simmer over very gentle heat for 20–25 minutes. Skim off the foam with a slotted spoon.
- 3
Step 3
Carefully remove the cooked fish for the aspic from the broth. Cook the vegetables and heads for another 15 minutes. Then discard the onion bulb and keep the carrot for garnish.
- 4
Step 4
Taste the finished broth for salt, strain it through several layers of cheesecloth. Blot the fat from the surface with paper towels; it comes off easily. Add gelatin at a ratio of 1 tbsp per 350 ml of liquid. Dissolve it.
- 5
Step 5
And now for the best part: let's start making the aspic. Pour a couple of tablespoons of broth into the bottom of each plate. Arrange the sliced carrots, boneless fish (you can remove the pin bones with tweezers so as not to damage the pieces), peas, corn, and slices of hard-boiled egg.
- 6
Step 6
Pour broth over the fish and refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours.
- 7
Step 7
The fish aspic is ready. I like to serve it “upside down”: I put the plate with the aspic in hot water for a few seconds, then flip it onto another plate so all the beauty is on top.