Pork terrine and cranberry chutney

A tasty starter or simple lunch, spiced up with some chutney that handily uses the fresh cranberries being sold off after Christmas...

Coarse pork and herb terrine
(Delicious magazine)

Aiming to serve six rather than twelve, and I didn't have the recipe while shopping so things, especially the meat component, varied from the recipe. I used half a medium onion and two large cloves of garlic, three reasonably lean, medium-cut pork loin steaks, and 250g sausagemeat with cranberries and bramley apple, plus 225g streaky bacon with Christmas spices, and no liver. I chopped the steaks coarsely in the food processor, and used all the bacon bar two rashers to line a loaf tin. I had no mace and no sage, used 2tbsp rum (no brandy!) and no port or white wine.

The hard thing was finding a tray deep enough to place the loaf tin in water to half its height. Everything else worked well and the terrine went down really well as a starter at New Year. It served six comfortably, and another two for lunch as leftovers :)

Ingredients

• 350g shallots, halved
• 6 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 900g rindless boned belly of pork or pork shoulder (ask your butcher to mince or dice it for you)
• 325g streaky bacon rashers
• 100g pork liver, diced
• 100g good-quality pork sausage meat
• 120ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp port
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbes de Provence
• ¼ tsp each ground allspice, ground cloves and ground mace

Method

1. Put the shallots and garlic into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chopped shallots and garlic and fry gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
3. If you haven’t asked your butcher to mince or dice the pork for you, chop it into pieces, put it into the food processor and, using the pulse button, whizz until it’s a coarse paste. Transfer to the bowl with the onions and garlic. Chop 100g of the streaky bacon and add to the food processor with the liver. Pulse to coarsely chop, then add to the mixing bowl, too. Add all the other ingredients to the bowl except the remaining 225g bacon. Using your hands, mix it all together well.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a 28.5 x 13 x 6cm loaf tin or 1.5-litre terrine dish with the reserved bacon, leaving the edges overhanging. Fill with the mixture and fold the overhanging bacon back over the top. Cover the loaf tin or terrine with a lid or some foil, put it into a small, deep roasting tin and pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the loaf tin or terrine. Bake for 1 ½ hours. Uncover and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.
5. Remove the tin or terrine from the hot water and tip off any liquid on the surface of the terrine. Set aside to cool. Cover the top of the terrine with cling film then with foil-covered cardboard, cut to fit inside the rim of the tin or dish. Put a few cans along the top to compress. Chill overnight.
6. The next day, remove the cans and cardboard and, if cooked in a loaf tin, remove from the tin.
7. Serve in slices with chutneys, pickled onions, red onion marmalade, small gherkins and crusty French bread. The terrine will keep well in the fridge for 5 days.

Apricot and cranberry chutney
(Allrecipes)

This was very easy to make. I reduced the sugar a little to 75g, but on the first tasting (while still warm) there was a distinct vinegary burn upon swallowing, and I stirred in about a tablespoon of runny honey. As this was to take elsewhere for serving later, it got to sit for a couple of hours, and mellowed very nicely. A great match for the slightly rich terrine.

Ingredients

• 50g (2 oz) diced dried apricots
• 350g (12 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 125g (4 oz) sultanas
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 250ml (8 fl oz) water
• 150g (5 oz) caster sugar
• 125ml (4 fl oz) cider vinegar

Method

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the apricots, cranberries, sultanas, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Add the dried fruit mixture and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.