I love a casual picnic with friends. Long and lazy, protected by the cool shade of a tree on a warm summers’ day. Sitting on a mismatched collection of picnic rugs. An afternoon of friendly chatter, eating more than you should, and drinking a wine, or two, or even three.
A few weekends ago I did just that with a group of friends and our partners. We headed to Sydney Park, which I have never actually been to before. Knew where it was as I have driven past the old brick chimneystacks more times than I care to remember. It is a fantastic alternative to Centennial Park.
Sydney Park is dog friendly, which is a fantastic bonus for us dog owners. We decided to take Sally with us, as she loves a picnic as much as anyone. For readers that may not be aware, Sally is my 12-year-old, 32kg, black, cross Labrador/Mastiff. A beautiful gentle lump of a girl.
Sally had a wonderful day, as we all did. She was happy to just chill under the trees with our group. Spending time with everyone. Spending time with everyone translates as sitting her big bum on various people’s feet, knees and legs, thinking she was a third of her actual size. She was even quite content to share the humans present with another pup, Honey, who was getting her picnic mojo on too.
We all brought a dish along to share. The fuss free, stress less approach to picnicking. I decided to bring along this terrine, a recipe I have been making for years. It really is such a simple terrine to make. You could say it’s a bit of a cheat’s terrine in a way. This is due to the use of minced meat, instead of lightly processing or finely chopping the meat. The only thing that really distances it from being a glorified meatloaf is the pressing process with some large cans overnight in the fridge.
You will need to start this recipe a day ahead. The terrine is best served with crusty bread, salad and cornichons.
- 500g fatty pork mince
- 500g veal mince
- 250g (approximately 20 thin long slices) prosciutto
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon thyme, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- 85 grams shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C or 160 degrees C fan forced.
- Line a 10 x 22cm (or close to) loaf tin with baking paper. Make sure you the piece of baking paper is large enough that you can fold it back over the terrine. Then layer with prosciutto slices as shown in the photos below. You will only use around 12-14 slices to line your tin with. Once you have lined your tin and you are happy with coverage, chop up the remainder of the prosciutto to go in the terrine.
- In a large bowl place all of your ingredients plus the leftover prosciutto. Mix well with your hands and season with salt and pepper. To taste for seasoning, fry a small patty (size of a 20c piece) of the mixture in a pan and taste. Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Place your mixture in to your lined loaf tin. Press the mixture in firmly to make sure you get an even and flat result. Fold the prosciutto that has been left overhanging over the top of the mixture. Be sure to fold your end pieces in first.
- Fold excess baking paper over the terrine. If you haven’t left a long enough piece, just use a little more. Then cover with a double thickness of foil. Securing it well around the edges.
- Place terrine in a baking dish. Fill the baking dish with hot water, coming halfway up the sides of the loaf tin. Bake for 90 minutes.
- Once finished baking, remove terrine from the oven and baking dish. Leave foil on and then place a heavy weight on top your terrine (eg tomato cans). Once terrine has cooled to room temperature place in the refrigerator over night.
- When ready to serve, remove from tin and plate.
Over lap and leave prosciutto hanging over the sides when layering your tin
What your finished layering should look like.
Press terrine mix firmly into the lined tin.
Fold your prosciutto over the top of the terrine. Make sure you fold your ends in first.
What your terrine should look like once wrapped in prosciutto.If you don’t eat pork you could substitute it with chicken and omit using the prosciutto. Maybe instead wrapping it in thinly sliced lengthways zucchini?
Do tell dear Belly Rumbles’ reader, what is your favourite dish to take to a picnic?
I can definitely attest to the tastiness of this terrine! Yum. Honey is sorry she barked at Sally, sadly, she isn’t as content to share humans as Sally is!
Amanda@ChewTown recently posted..Preserved Lemons
Gorgeous terrine! I haven’t eaten one in years!
Lizzy (Good Things) recently posted..Bircher muesli a la Lizzy
mmmm love how it is covered in prosciutto!
Food is our religion recently posted..Deckhouse Cafe, Woolwich
Yum this looks incredible! I love a terrine with lots of pistachios too. And such a great idea for a picnic.
Helen (Grab Your Fork) recently posted..Lynn Shanghai Cuisine, Sydney
ooh I love how pretty the cross section looks! I don’t think I could ever resist anything wrapped in prosciutto 🙂
Jacq recently posted..Jones the Grocer, Sydney
A good thick slice of this would be great. In fact, it was! Sally sure cracks me up in thinking she’s a human, just like us. Awesome picnic.
john | heneedsfood recently posted..Da Mario, Rosebery
Haven’t had a tasty pate in quite some time – this looks gorgeous!
Peggy recently posted..Apple Pie w/ Pate Sable Crust & Streusel Top
Yum! I’ve never made a terrine before, this will be my first recipe to try.
Gaby recently posted..My experiment with the Bulletproof® protein fasting
Awesome! I added 5 freshly blitzed white bread slices, 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons green peppercorns. WICKED
Hi. I made your terrine for a dinner party entree on Saturday night. I was a bit concerned as although I love terrine, I had never made one. It was the hit of the evening. My friends were amazed when I told them I’d made it myself. I will definitely make again.
Hi Alison,
I’m so pleased to hear that the terrine was a big hit for your dinner party. This recipe is an old favourite of mine, that I tend to make for gatherings as it is pretty fail safe and tastes fantastic. Plus the leftovers are awesome 😉
Cheers, Sara