Monday

Roasted Vegetable Terrine





Terrine:

ter·rine (te rēn′, tə-)

noun,

1.Usually describes a kind of pâté made of pieces of meat or vegetables in a deep dish with straight sides.

2. Can also be used to describe the dish itself; an earthenware dish or casserole in which a pâté or any of various similar meat or vegetable mixtures is cooked and served.

3. The food so prepared.


One of my favorite wedding presents from years and years (and years) ago was a plain white oval terrine. In the beginning I didn't use the darling container for pâté or traditional terrine recipes, but it was perfect for a meatloaf for two (plus leftovers for sandwiches), small casseroles, side dishes, deep dish fruit cobblers, etc.







Over time, I've gathered a modest collection of these most useful molds. The one pictured above is the newest addition to my little family of terrines. I love it ~ a birthday gift from our son. He knows me well. :) I don't know about you, but gone are the jewelery and clothing wish lists for me. I don't miss them a bit. Kitchen and gardening things are my very favorite kinds of gifts.




Like many of us in the 70's when Cuisinart home food processors were introduced I went wild, slicing and processing and making and terrines. I still use it nearly everyday, but for pâtés and terrines .... not so much ~ only for special celebrations.
However, this little terrine inspired me to try a healthier roasted vegetable terrine ~ with goat cheese. (If you don't care for goat cheese you could use herbed Boursin, feta or even flavored cream cheese.)
Had fresh basil been available I would have served it with a Basil-Walnut pesto, but basil from the garden is gone for the year. Instead I made a roasted sweet red pepper puree mixed with a little sour cream to enrich it; (I used lower-fat) it complemented the terrine slices perfectly.
An alternate way of serving the slices would be over baby field greens with a drizzle of vinaigrette ~ a wonderful light lunch, or a starter for a meal in either summer or winter.




The method is easy. First I lined the mold with plastic cling film (to facilitate removal of the finished terrine), then lined it with a single layer of leafy greens which I blanched so they would be tender and pliable; I used the outer leaves of romaine lettuce and "v"-cut the tough stem out, leaving the leaf intact, but you could use any leafy green; spinach, chard, beet greens, or grape leaves, etc. Don't worry if the leaves tear, just overlap slightly it won't matter when you slice to serve.






The remaining sliced vegetables were roasted (in a hot oven) zucchini, yellow squash, sweet red bell peppers (can use jarred) and sliced mushrooms.
Instead of roasting the whole asparagus and the carrot slices, I blanched them until just tender then plunged them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.
I had some leftover garlic-sauteed baby spinach so I blended that into the fresh goat cheese and seasoned with salt, pepper and basil.
After the layers are in place, the blanced leaves are folded over the top, then the cling film, next flat ceramic press is placed on top and some sort of weight (canned good, or other heavy item), then the entire dish is refrigerated for 8 to 24 hours before unmolding and slicing to serve.







You could use almost any other vegetables you'd like; the thing to keep in mind is that since this is not a baked terrine you want the vegetables rather tender so they should be cooked to make slicing the terrine easier.


I didn't use a formal recipe for this terrine, I used vegetables I had on hand ~ but I found THIS printable copy from Emeril Legasse on the Food Network website, which is very similar to how I assembled mine. His version makes a much larger terrine, however, you could easily reduce the ingredients by half for a smaller mold.
The cute little Le Creuset terrine is available at amazon.com (see sidebar, to the right.)



31 comments:

  1. Mari, we used to make a lot of terrines and loved them. It's been a while though. Also made pate's. Love your beautiful terrine. Enjoy.

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  2. Mari, you have mastered the terrine and more! Your presentation is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for showing us how to use the terrine for its real purpose and not to just warm leftovers.

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  3. What beautiful layers of color and goodness! It looks so elegant :)

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  4. That is a work of art. Now, I've added another kitchen item to my wish list!

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  5. Gasp... the colors are phenomenal. I have to confess, I've never made a terrine, but I would make one in a heartbeat if I had that cute mold!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  6. I could have some right now and I would be happy! I just saw a little pot like this ..this morning buying gifts for clients..I should have:)

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  7. Wow that surely looks awesome. Your photographs are picture perfect couldn't find any other word.

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  8. I've eaten this dish (or similiar) but I've never attempted to make one. This looks wonderful and I love the dish you made it in.

    Sue

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  9. That's beautiful, M. I've been wantingn to make one of these for sometime now, but, alas, I am terrine-less... :( Now I will be on the lookout for one. I remember seeing an Emile Henry one at a William-Sonoma outlet store one time... I've always wished I would have bought it when I saw it. I will be looking for one now, I can tell you, but until then, a little loaf pan will have to do. Thank you, Mari!

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  10. Beautiful, just as all your dishes and photos are!

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  11. Oh beautiful....wonderful son...
    I hope I have some Christmas money to spend on one of these when they come back into stock!
    Meanwhile...save me a piece...
    L~xo

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  12. Mari,
    This is truly beautiful and colorful, and very healthy and very tasy too! It looks like a labor of love I'd like to try myself... and the terrine is a lovely gift. Your son scored some good points, didn't he?

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  13. Oh this is beautiful Mari! I love the terrine and the terrine. The sunset of the dish is really striking and the colourful terrine you made looks fab. so deserving of each other!

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  14. Simply delicious and superb dear...

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  15. What a lovely gift from your son! Stunning photos - looks delectable!

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  16. This is beautiful. Your photographs are wonderful..such great layers of color.

    Receiving kitchen gifts are always the best!

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  17. First time here...I felT bad, that I missed ur site for such a long time...

    Nice to discover ur lovely space..

    All the pictures are gorgeous & breath taking. Very very colorful and treat to my eyes.

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  18. Boy, I haven't seen one of these in decades, and have never made one, and I can't think why we don't do this more, even for special occasions. I don't own a tureen but now I definitely "need" one. Yours is bea-u-ti-ful!! Thanks for this inspiration. It's time.

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  19. Oh my, what a beautiful terrine. The colors are vibrant and you've photographed it perfectly, Mari. I'm sure it tastes as wonderful as it looks.

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  20. Now this is just a beautiful work of art. gorgeous photos too.

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  21. Thank you so much! It always warms my heart to read your wonderful comments, and I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day to do so. Thank you. xo ~m.

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  22. I was drooling over your posts on TS and FG without knowing they were yours! I should have guessed. This is so colorful and cheerful...and I am amazed your son bought such a perfect gift! Lucky you.

    I've been thinking about terrines lately...thanks for the inspiration.

    Diane

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  23. That looks so good! I really like all of the colourful layers!

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  24. I love terrines. Here in Belgium we often make them--winter terrines, summer terrines, you name it. Right now it's wild game season, so we're getting lots of pretty hearty ones. This veggie one looks so wonderful, I've put it on my to try list. Thanks!

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  25. Your terrine looks so pretty. I'll be on the lookout for terrines now. BTW I found you via MaryJo McCord on Pinterest. :)

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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