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Quail egg and prawn set in aspic molds

Serve with young salad leaves and tomato and thyme oil

Serves 4 

QUAIL'S EGG AND PRAWNS IN ASPIC

Start 24 hours before planning to serve this dish.

The aspic:
1 cup/250 ml clear fish stock, heated
4 sheets leaf gelatin, soaked in cold water and drained, or 4 teaspoons gelatin granules
1 cup/250 ml tomato water
1 teaspoon/5 ml lemon juice

The dish:
2 quail’s egg
oil for brushing the insides of the ramekins
4 small fresh dill sprigs
4 onion rings
8 small prawns, shelled, deveined, cooked and cut in half lengthwise

The garnish:
a selection of small salad leaves
tomato oil to drizzle
balsamic vinegar glaze  to drizzle

It is quite important that the stock is very clear. If the stock you will be using is not clear enough, clarify it by using the method given in the Glossary for clarifying stock.
Heat half a cup of the clarified stock and add the gelatin. Let it dissolve then add the rest of the stock and the tomato water. Leave in the refrigerator until it begins to set.

Have ready a bowl of iced water.
In a small saucepan, bring some water to a boil, enough to cover the quail’s eggs. (If one of the eggs just happens to be cracked, rub the cracked area with lemon juice or vinegar and lower the egg very gently into the water.) Boil the eggs for 1 minute, remove from the heat and leave in the hot water for 30 seconds. Transfer the eggs to the reserved iced water and leave for 1 minute, then remove and peel.
Take four ramekins of about 7 cm/2½ in diameter, brush the inside lightly with the oil and pour the stock with gelatin into each ramekin about 1 cm/0.4 in deep. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Place a dill sprig on top of the chilled aspic in the molds, place a peeled half a boiled quail’s egg (yolk side facing down) on top of the dill, then put an onion ring on top of the quail egg. Arrange four prawn halves (cut side facing up) around each the eggs, overlapping, then slowly spoon in the rest of the stock to fill the molds, taking care not to disturb the layers. Hold any of the ingredients that tends to float down with a toothpick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To serve:
When ready to serve, run the tip of a knife around the inside of the jelly, then briefly dip the bottom part of the ramekins in warm water and invert onto each serving plate. Place a bouquet of the salad leaves next to the mold and drizzle some of the tomato oil and balsamic vinegar glaze around. Serve immediately.

STELLA's avatar

By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.

2 replies on “Quail egg and prawn set in aspic molds”

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