4½ cups canned tomatoes with juice (2 one-pound, 3-ounce cans)
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup mayonnaise combined with 2 tablespoons finely cut chives
or
1 cup sour cream combined with 1 tablespoon red caviar
How To Cook:
1. Soften the gelatin in the cold beef stock for about 5 minutes. In a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, add the onions and cook, stirring, for 4 or 5 minutes until they are transparent but not brown.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, the canned tomatoes and the softened gelatin, and mix together until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
3. Then add the salt, the sugar, Worcestershire sauce and the tarragon, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to its lowest point and simmer the mixture with the pan partially covered for about 30 minutes.
4. Rub the mixture through a fine sieve or food mill into a mixing bowl. With a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly coat the inside of a 1-quart mold with the vegetable oil. Pour in the tomato mixture, let it cool slightly and then refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until the aspic is firm.
5. To unmold, run a knife around the inside surfaces of the mold and place a serving plate upside down on top of the mold.
6. Grasping the plate and the mold together firmly, invert the two. Rap the plate firmly on a table, and the aspic should slide out onto the plate.
7. Serve the tomato aspic as a salad course with mayonnaise mixed with finely cut chives, or with sour cream mixed with red caviar.
