Chicken and Pistachio Terrine
Chicken and Pistachio Terrine. I always feel like this is a grown-up dish, the kind of thing “proper adults” order from the menu at the country club, or the perfect starter to accompany the perfectly cooked steak at the swish restaurant with leather banquettes, wood panelled walls and an amazing wine list.
This is what you eat when it’s roasting hot outside, accompanied with chunky bread, cornichons, a superbly prepared Tuna Salad and a very large glass of chilled Chardonnay – better yet, pair this light dinner with Bulle de Blanquette, or any Bubbles and this transforms into a perfect grown-up meal. Terrines do that- they hold the power of transformation. And, this terrine is a classic; the delicate flavours of the mousse are accompanied by the earthiness of the wild mushrooms and the smokiness of the bacon and the pistachio provides the texture for the finish.
What about the health aspects, I hear you ask. Everything in moderation, is my daily response and mantra. Bacon..cream.. really? Yes, really. Chicken, a major contributor of protein is a Superfood and mushrooms are Superstar Superfoods, both of these must over shadow the odd slice of bacon and the occassional spot of cream, surely!
In my mind, it’s also important to source quality ingredients- a battery chicken pumped full of hormones fails the Superfoods test I suspect, and for us it’s free-range chicken as a minimum requirement and organic when possible. Same with eggs- battery eggs repeat on me throughout the day and that can’t be a good thing! Be conscience of the choices you make and you will be rewarded with feeling and looking better.
Meanwhile, back to the Terrine.. Don’t be put off by what appears to be a lot of prep- it’s really not complicated and is such a crowd pleaser. I highly recommend you use fresh herbs in this recipe rather than dry- it makes a HUGE difference. Once you’ve made this a couple of times and get the hang of it, you will use this recipe all the time for it’s WOW factor
Chicken and Pistachio Terrine
Equipment
- 1 Terrine Mould 21 cm x 10.5 cm [8.5" x 4.5"]
- Electronic digital scales
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Temperature Probe optional
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Chicken Legs - skin removed
- 12 Slices Smoked, Streaky Bacon
- 3 Chicken Breast - skinless approx 140g each [ 5 ounces]
- 50 grams Pistachio, unsalted and roughly chopped about 1/4 cup
- 1 tsp fresh Tarragon minced 9g dry - if you must
- 1 tsp fresh Parsley minced
- 1 tsp fresh Chives minced
- 1 tsp fresh Lovage leaves minced Celery leaves if you cannot access Lovage
- 250 grams assorted Mushrooms, Button. Chestnut, Wild a generous cup
- 150 ml Double Cream 5 1/2 ounce
- 2 Large Whole Eggs
Instructions
- Gather and weigh your ingredients
- Line a terrine mould with clingfilm in both directions, allowing a 5 cm [2"] overhang on each side and set aside
- Place the bacon between 2 pieces of clingfilm, and using a rolling pin, roll the streaky bacon to thin out
- Line the Terrine Mould [horizontally, on top of the clingfilm] with the bacon, slightly overlapping each slice, reserving 3 slices for the top
- Slice the chicken breast into 3 pieces lengthways - 9 strips in total
- Cut each boneless chicken leg into 4 pieces
- Slice all the mushrooms and saute in a hot pan until cooked. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside to cool.
- Pre-heat oven to 160c
- Fill a medium saucepan with 3/4 water and 1 tsp salt and bring to the boil.
- Place the cut chicken legs and 4 strips of chicken breast into the boiling water and poach for 6-7 minutes or until the internal temperature is 75c. Remove from the water and allow to cool [Note 1]
- Place the other 5 uncooked strips of chicken breast into a food processor along with a pinch of salt and white pepper and blend for about 30 seconds to make a smooth paste.
- With the machine running, add 1 egg and blend.
- Scrape down the side of the bowl with a bowl scraper, and then, with the machine running, add the other egg and mix well.
- With the machine still running, slowly add the double cream to the bowl and blend to a smooth paste.
- Decant the mix into a clean bowl.
- Add the sauteed mushrooms, herbs and chopped pistachios and mix well.
- Spoon a layer of chicken and mushroom mousse into the bottom of the lined terrine mould.
- Build the terrine by adding a layer of cooked chicken breast and then topping with a layer of mousse.
- Repeat, this time by adding a layer of the chicken legs and again topping with mousse.
- Layer up, filling the terrine mould to use up all the chicken and mousse.
- Once the terrine is filled, top with the remaining 3 slices of bacon, lengthways.
- Place another sheet of clingfilm over the top, and seal with the overlapping clingfilm that lined the mould and create a seal.
- Place the terrine mould into a bain marie [Note 2] allow the water to come about 1/2 way to the top of the terrine. Cover the whole lot with foil and seal the edges.
- Cook for 1 hour or until the internal temperature is above 75c
- Remove from the oven and carefully remove the terrine from the hot water - I use tongs and an oven glove. Discard the water and allow the terrine to come to room temperature.
- Pop in the fridge overnight. then, remove the terrine from the mould and the clingfilm and slice into 10 x 1cm slices.
