Chicken Terrine with Sage and Pistachio
This Terrine is Paleo
This dish is gluten and dairy free, paleo and ketogenic diet friendly. It is made without eggs, so it can be consumed by egg allergy sufferers also.
The terrine, as a cooking pot, is a deep, rectangular, straight-sided ceramic, glass or cast-iron dish with a lid. It often would be made in the shape of an animal, usually representing the contents of the terrine. It’s not a problem if you do not have special terrine dish with lid, it’s possible to cover with foil hermetically. And before cooking we cover the whole dish well with foil.
The second meaning of terrine is the actual food that is cooked or served in these special dishes. The food is made in loaf-shaped layers of either meat or fish. Terrines can be anything from a simple, modest meats, through to complicated dishes of game, foie gras, and truffles. The limit is only the creativity of the chefs.
Chicken, Sage, Pistachio and Bacon
These four basic ingredients are matching very well with each other. The neutral taste of the chicken fits very well with the slightly stronger taste of the sage leaves. Chicken needs strong seasoning to be delicious. The roasted pistachios in the middle of the terrine are not only delicious but also pretty. It gives a nice pattern to the terrine. It can be made with any of your favorite seeds and nuts. We really like pistachios.
Tip!
Be careful with the seasoning if you use salted bacon. Bacon releases fat during cooking and the terrine absorbs that.
Serving of Terrine
Slice into thick slices when it is cooled completely. It’s very delicious with onion or fig chutney. Try my chutneys, don’t miss them! I often serve it with different salads too. It’s great for appetizer, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be served anytime.
Do you know which kitchen tool is the most important? The sharp knife. The cutting surface of the terrine is beautiful if you use sharp knife.
Chicken Terrine with Sage and Pistachio
Equipment
- 21 cm x 14 cm terrine pot or loaf pan
Ingredients
- 800 gram chicken breast fillet skinless, minced
- 1 onion about 150 gram, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp dry sherry
- 2 tbsp fresh sage leaves finely sliced
- 40 gram pistachios roasted and roughly crushed
- 2 tsp grated orange zest
- 10-12 slices bacon
- 10 pcs sage leaves to serve
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Line a 21 cm x 14 cm loaf pan (or ceramic terrine pot) with bacon slices, leaving excess hanging over the sides.
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until translucent and soft.
- Add crushed garlic and dry sherry. Cook for 1-1,5 minutes. Put onion mixture into a bowl.
- Grind the skinless chicken breast fillet in a food processor for 2-3 minutes. Add to the onion mixture and mix by hands. Add 1 tsp salt (add less if the bacon is salted) and ¾ tsp freshly ground pepper. Mix them.
- Put half of the chicken mixture to separate bowl. Add 2 tbsp finely sliced sage leaves and mix them. Taste and season if it’s necessary. Be careful if the bacon is salted, add less salt to the mixture. Press half of this sage leaves-chicken mixture into the lined loaf pan. Smooth the top. Set aside the other half.
- Add pistachio and orange zest to the other half of the onion-chicken mixture and combine them. Spoon this mixture to the top of the sage leaves-chicken mixture in the loaf pan. Then spoon the remaining sage leaves-chicken mixture to the top of the pistachio-chicken mixture. Press 3 levels to push the air out.
- Fold overhanging bacon slices over the top of the filling, cover with bacon perfectly.
- Press down the surface again to make it smooth.
- Grease a sheet of foil and press it on the top of the bacon covered filling, with oily side down.
- Wrap the whole loaf pan well in foil and place into a roasting tin.
- Fill the half part of the roasting tin with hot, boiled water.
- Place the roasting tin to the preheated oven very carefully. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the terrine feels solid when you press it gently.
- Lift the loaf pan out of the water. Unwrap the loaf pan from the foil but leave the oily foil on the top of the terrine.
- Pour out the unnecessary liquid from the terrine. Set aside to cool. Chill overnight, that’s the best.
- Before serving, turn the terrine out from the loaf pan on to a baking tray. Preheat the oven to 200°C and brown the bacon on the top of the terrine for 20 minutes. It’s possible to serve cold also and you can skip this step.
- Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a small saucepan and throw the fresh sage leaves in it for 10 second then place fried leaves to paper towel for a minute to absorb unnecessary oil. Then decorate the top of the terrine with it. It’s very delicious with onion or fig chutney also, look at my chutney recipes on the site. Enjoy!