CookEat Recipe
Insalata Russa in a Jelly Mould
A chilled mould of finely diced cooked vegetables, lettuce, anchovy and egg, bound with olive-oil mayonnaise and a thin clear jelly layer.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 120 g mixed lettuce leaves, such as romaine and soft-leaf lettuce, washed and dried; radicchio may replace some leaves; 100 g plain cooked beetroot, weighed after cooking; 70 g cooked green beans, weighed after cooking; 50 g cooked potato, weighed after cooking; 20 g cooked carrot, weighed after cooking; 20 g capers preserved in vinegar, drained; 20 g pickled gherkins, drained; 3 whole salt-cured anchovies, cleaned, rinsed and filleted, about 6 fillets; 2 eggs for hard-boiling; Commercially pasteurized egg-yolk product equivalent to 2 yolks, measured according to its label; 200 ml olive oil; Juice of 1 lemon; About 6 g leaf gelatine, with strength suitable for a firm set of roughly 400 ml liquid according to its packet; 60 ml water for dissolving gelatine, plus cold soaking water; Salt and white pepper.
Step 2
Use plain cooked vegetables, or cook them separately before weighing: boil beetroot until tender, about 40–60 minutes depending on size; potato about 20–30 minutes; green beans about 6–8 minutes; carrot about 10–15 minutes. Cool promptly, peel where needed and weigh the listed cooked amounts. Keep chilled. Hard-boil the two eggs for about 10–12 minutes, cool promptly in cold water and peel.
Step 3
Cut the salad leaves into thin strips. Dice the cooked vegetables into pieces smaller than chickpeas, about 4–5 mm. Dice both egg whites and one cooked yolk; reserve the other cooked yolk for the mayonnaise. Keep the capers whole, cut the gherkins to caper-sized pieces and finely chop the cleaned anchovy fillets. Mix these ingredients and refrigerate while preparing the dressing.
Step 4
For the mayonnaise, mash the reserved hard-boiled yolk smooth and whisk with the commercially pasteurized equivalent of two raw yolks. Add the olive oil almost drop by drop at first, whisking continuously, then in small additions as the emulsion thickens. Whisk in the lemon juice gradually and season with salt and white pepper. Mix through the chilled salad. Do not use untreated raw yolks or home pasteurization.
Step 5
Soak the leaf gelatine in cold water according to its packet, commonly about 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess. Warm the measured 60 ml water gently and dissolve the gelatine in it without boiling. Choose the packet amount intended for a firm mould, since leaf strengths differ; the indicated 6 g is a practical starting quantity for the mayonnaise binding mixture.
Step 6
Pour just enough dissolved gelatine into a smooth mould of about 1 litre to form a thin layer about 1–2 mm deep. Chill until just set. For the optional coloured pattern, reserve a few of the already measured vegetable and hard-boiled egg pieces before mixing the salad, and arrange them against this layer; do not add extra ingredients.
Step 7
Keep the remaining gelatine fluid but let it become only lukewarm. Stir a few spoonfuls of dressed salad into it, then immediately fold it through the rest. Spoon into the prepared mould, smooth gently and refrigerate at 4°C or colder for at least 5 hours until firmly set. To unmould, dip the outside briefly in warm water, loosen the edge and invert onto a chilled platter.
Step 8
Keep chilled until serving. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and eat within 2–3 days, or sooner if required by the pasteurized egg-product label. Discard salad kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
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