Salade de Homard en Aspic.—Slice down the body
of a good lobster neatly; have ready some stiff
aspic jelly made with delicately clarified fish stock
for choice, and pour this into a border mould in a
quarter inch layer; when this is stiff, but not quite
hard, lay in the pieces of lobster in a circle, with
alternate slices of cucumber and leaves of tarragon,
then pour in enough aspic to fill up the mould, and
put it away to set. Break up one or more nicely
washed and dried lettuce, and mix it with the
trimmings of the lobster (reserving the claws), cut
up fine; then when the mould is set turn it out, pile
up the lettuce, &c., well mixed with good mayonnaise,
in the centre, and garnish with the reserved pieces
of lobster, sliced cucumber, plovers' eggs, or hard-
boiled hens' eggs (choose small ones) quartered,
sliced tomato, &c., according to what you have
handy. This can manifestly be varied to taste, and
is especially good made of cold fish, and shrimps, or
prawns. Remember in making mayonnaise for fish
salads that, though hardly correct, a teaspoonful
of Burgess's essence of anchovy is a great addition
to each half pint of mayonnaise, as it brings out the
full flavour of the fish, though it should never be
sufficient to be actually detected as a separate
flavour.