Pork and pistachio terrine recipe

By Tom Norrington-Davies

Serves 8-10
Takes 20 minutes to make, 45 minutes to bake, plus overnight marinating, cooling and chilling
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Buy pork belly or shoulder mince and thinly sliced bacon from your butcher for a divine terrine.

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing
12 very thinly sliced rashers of streaky bacon
800g coarse pork mince made from the belly or shoulder
250g dry cured smoked streaky bacon, very finely diced
250g free-range chicken livers, roughly chopped
5 or 6 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp quatre-épices mix
4 tbsp brandy or calvados
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp duck fat or lard
200ml red wine
50g shelled pistachio nuts
6 ready-to-eat prunes, pitted

Method

1. Grease a 20cm terrine mould or loaf tin and line with the bacon slices, overlapping slightly.
2. Combine the mince, diced bacon, livers, herbs and spices in a bowl. Season, then stir in the brandy. Cover and marinate in the fridge, overnight if possible (or a few hours will suffice).
3. In the meantime, fry the onion gently in the duck fat or lard until just softened – don’t let it brown. Add the wine and reduce over a low heat for a few minutes until it’s sticky and jammy. Set aside to cool.
4. Stir the onion and pistachios into the meat and mix well.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ fan180°C/gas 6 and fill a roasting tray two-thirds full with water to make a bain-marie. Take a small piece of terrine mix, shape it into a little patty and fry it until cooked through. Now taste it – this part is important, as you need to check the seasoning. Add more salt, pepper or spices, if needed.
6. Half-fill the mould or tin with the terrine mix, pushing it right into the corners. Now line the prunes neatly along the terrine and push into the mix slightly. Continue to fill the mould – you want to overfill it slightly so that the top is domed, like a loaf of bread. Bring the ends of the bacon over the top.
7. Bake the terrine in the bain-marie for 45 minutes before testing it. It will feel firmly cooked when pressed gently in the middle. Ideally, probe the centre with a meat thermometer; it’s cooked when it reaches 65°C.
8. Cool, then chill for several hours with a weight on top of it (a tray with jars or tins will do). Carefully turn out, and if taking on a picnic, wrap tightly in cling film or baking paper. Slice the terrine with a very sharp knife and you will be impressed with having produced such a work of art, studded as it is with prunes and pistachios. If your terrine crumbles then don’t fret, it’s just being rustic.