Gaby
Aspic is made from a rich broth that doesn’t require extra thickeners. Its restaurant cousin—jellied meat—uses gelatin. This shortcut cuts cooking time and gives the dish a neater presentation.
Ingredients (for 8 servings): 1 chicken; 60 g gelatin; 1 onion; 1 carrot; 1.2 liters of water; garlic to taste; parsley to taste; black peppercorns to taste; bay leaf to taste; salt to taste.
Place the cleaned chicken in a pot and cover it with cold water. Add the peeled vegetables (onion and carrot), and bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
Skim off any foam, season the broth with salt, and add the bay leaf and peppercorns. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the broth for an hour and a half.
When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the broth and separate the meat from the bones.
Remove the vegetables from the broth. They won’t be needed for the dish, but you can use the carrot for garnish.
Strain the broth, reserving 1.2 liters for the recipe; use the excess for other dishes like sauces or mashed potatoes.
Mix some of the hot broth with the gelatin until it dissolves. Strain the broth again.
Peel and crush the garlic, add it to the broth, and stir in the dissolved gelatin. Stir thoroughly and season the broth with salt.
Place pieces of chicken into bowls or molds and pour the gelatin broth over the meat. Let the jellied chicken cool completely, then refrigerate.
After a few hours, the jellied chicken will be ready to serve—pair it with horseradish.
Life Hack
Under the clear broth, add more than just chicken: before it sets, place a hard-boiled egg cut in half (yolk side up), canned green peas, or creatively cut boiled carrots from the broth into the dish. Keep in mind that adding carrots may cause the jellied meat to spoil faster than if you leave them out.
