Ingredients (30-35 buns):

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• 1 beef fore shank - about 1,5 kg;

• 2 pork hoofs - about 1 kg;

• 1 onion bulb (we will use the entire bulb so no need to chop);

• 1 carrot;

• 1 bay leaf;

• A bunch of parsley - attention - with roots;

• 1 garlic clove, pretty finely chopped;

• Some black pepper and allspice;

• Salt to taste.

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Directions:

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Nowadays “kholodets” is made from beef, pork, veal or chicken, adding vegetables (carrots, onions, garlics, celery) and some spices. Surely, the most important ingredients are beef or pork hoofs, ears or heads, but this time we won’t make experiments – cooking “kholodets” is obviously not a preparation for Halloween, nor a sacrifice ceremony, and the title says that it’s a classical, traditional recipe, so we will only need a beef fore shank and 2 pork knuckles.

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Okay, now chop the fore shank and knuckles on pieces of 150-200 grams, and then carefully wash everything and put in some hollow bowl. You’ll need to fill it with cold water before cooking and leave it for several hours. Don't ask why, it is necessary, so the aspic will turn out more transparent.A fter that, drain and put the pieces in a big pan. Fill it with water so that it covers the meat (1 - 2 l of water on 1 kg of products). Put the pan on fire, bring to boiling.

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As soon as the contents start to boil, drain the water. Then carefully wash all the pieces and fill the pan once again but with the bigger amount of water (the level of liquid should be about 2 cm above the meat).

The dish is cooked on a low heat for 6-8 hours. You can have a rest but watch out, don’t let your broth seethe like that suspicious old lady from the bench you meet every time you get home here in Russia. Okay, joking.

During the process skim off foam as carefully as possible. When cooking the sub-products, note that there will be a lot of it. The more carefully you will skim it off; more transparent will be the broth, so watch your“kholodets”, unless it turns in a foamy disaster.

Approximately an hour before it is ready add parsley roots, bay leaf, onion, some allspice, chopped garlic and salt to taste.

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Then cool the broth, divide the meat into equal portions and put them in forms or soup plates. Better if you do it by hand to avoid small bones becoming a bad surprise and spoiling your impressions from the dish.

Also a carrot cut into circles and some washed-up greens. Strain the broth through the colander, better twice. The broth should be as sticky as a long-chewed gum. You can check the consistency by putting two fingers in it. If they can hardly be separated from each other, means everything is just right.

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Okay, we’ve got sure about the broth, now it’s time to fill with it our plates with meat and vegetables. The only thing left is to put them in a cold place for 8 hours or the whole night, if possible. Voila, your homemade traditional Russian “kholodets” is ready! Have a nice meal and keep an eye on your plate – who knows, that jelly-like dish can disappear from your view faster than you could ever imagine ;) Bon appetit!