Pâté en croûte recipe

Ingredients:

450 g/ 1 pound veal filet (sliced into finger-sized strips)

300 g/ 2/3 pounds pork filet (sliced into finger-sized strips)

1 small onion (coarsely chopped)

1 garlic clove (sliced)

450 ml/ 2 cups white wine

1 star anis

1 pinch of ground nutmeg

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

Salt & black pepper for seasoning

For the farce filling:

250 g/ 1/2 pound good quality sausage meat

150 g/ 1/3 pound thick ham diced into cubes

3 tbsp cognac

For the shortcrust pastry:

500 g/ 4 cups plain flour

250 g/ 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 eggs

1/2 glass of water

1 tsp salt

For the gelatin:

240 ml/ 1 cup of chicken broth

1 sheet of gelatin

Two handfuls of unsalted pistachios (shells removed)

I used a rectangular mould (which can open on all sides), 6 cm in depth, 9 cm width and 22 cm in length.

For the meat filling:

Mix the sausage meat, cognac and diced ham together. Leave to marinate 2 hours in the refrigerator.

For the marinade:

Prepare the marinade for the veal and pork. Slice finger size strips of both meats, place in a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, add sliced onions, garlic, star anis, nutmeg, bay leaf and cloves. Pour the white wine, give it a good stir, cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator overnight. Stir the ingredients twice a day.

Prepare the shortcrust pastry:

Mix all the ingredients together, start kneading until you get a good soft dough. Make into a ball, cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Gelatin:

Bring the broth to a soft boil, remove from heat. A dd gelatin sheet and 1 tsp Madera wine (optional).

To assemble:

1) Drain the veal/ pork and discard the marinade. Set aside.

2) Roll out dough into a large rectangle. With a knife, try to cut out 2 strips to line the sides of the mould (one width side and one lenth side x 2) and allow a 2 cm overhang. Press the side trips firmly together. Now cut out a base rectangle for the bottom of the mould. Press dough firmly at the bottom together to seal properly.

3) Fill in the bottom with a 1 cm layer of the sausage meat/ham. Sprinkle a few pistachios. Press with a fork to even out the meat and nuts. Add 2 cm layer of the veal/pork meat. Sprinkle with pistachios and press with a fork to even out the meat. Repeat the operation until the paté en croûte is filled. Cut out a cover (with a 2 cm overhang) for the paté en croûte and seal the edges firmly. With the tip of a knife, gently draw leaf-style figures on top of cover. Roll a small piece of aluminium foil and create a little pipe (like a cigarette). Make a small hole in the center of the pâté en croûte, large enough to slide in the aluminium ‘pipe’ (you will be using this ‘pipe’ later on to pour in the gelatin). Brush with egg wash. Bake in pre-heated oven 180°C/ 350°F for 1 hour. Allow to cool.

4) When completely cool, pour gelatin through the ‘pipe’. Take it slow until you feel the pâté en croûte is filled. Set aside till cool and place in refrigerator overnight before serving.

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