Salmon, White Fish and Prawn Terrine

Terrines produce a really strong impression on people: they are beautiful, flavourful and more-ish. But when it comes to cooking one, the perspective usually scares even the most adventurous cooks away. No wonder: it is quite a difficult dish to make since it usually has lots of ingredients and requires a thorough mise en place, a fine technique of assembling in a mould and a high precision when it comes to actual cooking (using a hot method – baking in the oven, usually in a bain-marie; or a cold one – setting in the fridge with the help of the gelling agents). I for one feel a thrill when I see a perfectly made terrine and look with awe at a person who managed to nail such a complicated dish. I tried to make a few terrines at home and, believe me, it’s always been an exciting moment when it came to cutting them. I held my breath and accurately sliced it – to see whether the layers are distinct or not. In general, it’s always a nerve-wrecking experience!

            Once, however, I got really surprised when I found a recipe of a terrine which promised to be quite easy to handle. I had some left-over salmon and white fish in the fridge and I turned to my best reference book – Larousse Gastronomique – is search of cooking ideas and came across this recipe. Strange as it may sound, but there was no fuss about this dish at all! It was rather quick and easy to make and tasted absolutely amazing! And as I cut the first slice, I saw a few, but really nice distinct layers – which added points to the ‘wow’ factor of the dish!

Recipe adapted from “Larousse Gastronomique”

Ingredients:

300 gm salmon

50 ml white wine

300 gm white fish

100 gm prawns

4 eggs

60 ml heavy cream

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1.      Cut the salmon fillet into long strips and marinate them in salt, pepper and white wine.

2.      Prepare a forcemeat by blending fish, prawns, eggs and cream. Season the mixture.

3.      Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter a terrine dish and spread 1/3 of the forcemeat at the bottom. Cover with an even layer of salmon strips. Add another 1/3 of the forcemeat, covered with strips of salmon. Spread the remaining forcemeat on top, cover the dish with foil and cook in a bain marie for about 70 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving the terrine.

Notes:

1. For bain marie, place the terrine mold in a larger dish filled with hot water.
2. If you want to serve the terrine with a sauce, mayonnaise with some chopped fresh herbs will be a good choice.