Pork Terrine and home made bread and some nice chutney? V easy as can be made beforehand do no faffing on the day of the dinner party!
Simple pork and peppercorn terrine
A very easy terrine that slices into firm, flavour-packed slices, perfect for lunch with a chunk of bread and a dollop of pickle.
Makes 10-12 slices.
300g rindless, boneless pork belly
250g smoked streaky bacon
200g free-range chicken livers (or very fresh pig's liver)
2 tbsp chopped sage
2 large banana shallots, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
50ml port
50g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
1-2 tbsp brined green peppercorns, drained
Lard or oil, for greasing
4-5 bay leaves (optional)
Cut the pork belly into 2-3cm cubes. Roughly chop the bacon and livers. Combine all the meat with the sage, shallots and garlic, cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
Put the flavoured meat into a food processor and blitz to a coarse paste – you might find it easiest to do this in two batches; if you leave one batch quite coarse and the other finer, you'll get a good, firm and interesting texture in the finished terrine.
Transfer the meat to a large bowl, add the port, breadcrumbs and green peppercorns, and mix very thoroughly. Break off a small nugget of the mixture and fry it gently until cooked through. Taste it to assess the seasoning, then add salt and pepper to the raw pork mixture as necessary.
Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. Use a little lard or oil to grease a loaf tin (base measurement about 8 x 20cm), or similar sized terrine dish. Lay a few bay leaves, if using, along the base (ie, on what will be the top of the terrine). Pack the meat mixture into the tin, pressing it down firmly. Cover tightly with foil and place in a roasting tin. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the loaf tin, and bake for an hour and a half to two hours, until the terrine has come away from the sides of the tin and a metal skewer pressed into its centre for a few moments comes out piping hot.
You now need to press the terrine as it cools, to give it a nice, firm texture. If you've used a loaf tin, place another loaf tin on top and fill that with weights such as cans of food, or even large pebbles. (Some terrine dishes come with their own ceramic platform that fits snugly over the terrine and that you can place weights on.) Don't go mad with the weights, or you'll squeeze out all the lovely meat juices. Leave the weighted terrine until completely cool, then remove the weights and refrigerate for 24 hours or so, for the flavours to develop.