Terrines and pâtés are some of my favourite foods, particularly in summer when they can be enjoyed al fresco with a glass of vino!
My love affair with this style of food developed when we visited France. First of all the range of terrines and pâtés in the deli’s, supermarkets and markets are always fabulous. I usually have to restrain myself from taking out my camera and snapping away at what the French consider ‘mainstream, everyday food’, when I’m pretending to be a ‘local’! If I had a deli or restaurant in the Cape Winelands I would specialize in these and I am certain everyone would love it.
This is how we lunch in France …. photograph from a few years back!
This time of the year when evenings are hot we opt for very light meals, usually salad based with a light protein. This is the time for terrines!
You cannot use fatty meat, so they are also low on calories….. unless you make my duck or chicken liver parfait that contains 50% butter! It is also amazing how economical they are to make, so perfect for the post Christmas household budget! One terrine serves 6-8 main course helpings and lasts up to 5 days in the fridge…. If you can keep it that long!
Last year I posted my goat terrine (recipe here)
My latest recipe is a mix of lean pork mince and chicken breast with mango and hazelnuts.
To get the rich mango flavour and to retain the colour I used dried mango. This can easily be exchanged with for dried apricots.
I love hazelnuts with meat, but cashews, pecans or walnuts will be as good. Many chefs use pistachios. They add a lovely flavour and I love the pops of green, but I’m afraid the prices are too ridiculous!
Terrine making varies in complexity, but this one is so easy to make. In fact it’s just a glamorous meat loaf!
You can skip the pork: Meat terrines are traditionally bacon lined, but you can omit the bacon or use chicken or lamb bacon if you want to skip the pork. You can also use chicken mince instead of the pork.
Serve the terrine with a side salad, as part of a charcuterie platter, as a starter or as a main meal. I like adding a salsa style salad.
A salsa is a sauce in Spanish. In Italian and Mexico it is usually a cross between a sauce made with coarsely chopped ingredients or a salad of finely chopped ingredients! Either way, I define it as a sauce sometimes for example when I refer to the Italian style Salsa Verde and other times when I prepare a finely chopped veggie mix as a bruschetta topping or an accompaniment to other dishes. It even extends to certain dips such as the tomato based mix used for Natchos!
For this recipe I repeated the mango that I used in the recipe by making a mango salsa. The freshness of the mango is stunning with the meat.
