Chicken Mayonnaise

- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup cold water
- 2 cups boiling chicken broth or rich stock
- 2 tablespoons finely grated yellow onion
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise (use “light,” if you like)
- ½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread
- 2½ cups finely diced cooked chicken
- ½ cup coarsely chopped, lightly toasted slivered almonds (8 to 10 minutes in a 350° F. oven)
- 2 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and finely diced
- 2 medium celery ribs, trimmed and finely diced
- 1 cup solidly frozen tiny green peas
- 6 lettuce leaves or 1 head radicchio, cored and sliced about ½ inch thick
Instructions:
For slightly stiffer Chicken Mayonnaise, use one gelatin envelope plus one teaspoon of gelatin.
- Lightly coat an 8 × 8 × 2-inch baking dish or nonreactive pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Soften the gelatin in the cold water for 5 minutes. Pour the boiling chicken broth into a large heatproof bowl, and add the gelatin. As soon as it dissolves, mix in the onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Set uncovered in the refrigerator for about an hour or until syrupy. Blend in the mayonnaise and sandwich spread, whisking until smooth. Fold in the chicken, almonds, eggs, celery, and frozen peas, then pour into the baking dish and spread to the corners.
- Set uncovered in the refrigerator and chill overnight or until firm enough to cut.
- To serve, cut the Chicken Mayonnaise into squares and bed each on a lettuce leaf or nest in the sliced radicchio. The perfect accompaniment: thickly sliced red-ripe tomatoes.