Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [112]
SHRIMP AND SALMON TERRINE WITH SPINACH AND MUSHROOMS
This is probably the simplest terrine to make at home. It has a rich, smooth shrimp and salmon flavor, and the garnish—a mosaic of green spinach surrounding the salmon fillet in the center—is visually dramatic. The recipe calls for small shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), because they tend to be the least expensive, but any shrimp will work well. This would also work well, both visually and from a flavor standpoint, with Basil Cream Sauce (page 291).
1 tablespoon/15 milliliters vegetable oil
8 ounces/225 grams mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1⁄4 inch/0.5 centimeter thick
1 tablespoon/15 grams kosher salt
4 ounces/110 grams spinach leaves (about 2 cups), stems removed and cut into chiffonade (slivered)
1 pound/450 grams small (26/30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined or rock shrimp
1 large egg white
1 1⁄4 cups/300 milliliters heavy cream
Pinch of white pepper
10 ounces/280 grams skinless salmon fillet: if trimming a side of salmon specifically for this recipe (see Note 1 below), you want a long piece 1 to 11⁄2 inches/2.5 to 3.5 centimeters wide by 1 inch/2.5 centimeters thick and the length of the mold (see step 6 below); or buy two 5-ounce/140-gram center-cut pieces salmon fillet
1. Freeze all your blades and bowls before gathering and measuring your ingredients (see Note 2 below).
2. Heat a large sauté pan, then add the butter or oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms, season with 1 teaspoon/7 grams salt, and sauté until soft. Remove from the pan and chill.
3. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F./150 degrees C.
4. Place the shrimp and egg white in the food processor and puree. While the machine is running, add the cream in a steady slow stream. Season with the remaining salt and the white pepper and process to smooth paste. (For an exquisite texture, pass this mixture through a drum sieve, or tamis.)
5. Transfer the shrimp mixture to a bowl and fold in the cooled mushrooms and spinach.
6. Line a 11⁄2-quart/1.5-liter terrine mold with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang on the two long sides to cover the filled mold (moistening the mold first will help the plastic wrap adhere to the corners). Fill with two-thirds of the shrimp mixture, lay the salmon fillet in the center (if using 2 fillets, lay them end to end, trimming them as necessary to fit) and push down with your hands so the mixture mousse comes up around the sides of the salmon. Top with the remaining shrimp mixture and fold the plastic wrap over to cover. Cover with the lid or foil.
7. Place the terrine in a high-sided roasting pan and add enough hot water (very hot tap water, 150 to 160 degrees F./65 to 71 degrees C.) to the pan to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Put the roasting pan in the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pâté registers 140 degrees F./60 degrees C.
8. Remove the pâté from the oven, remove from the water bath, and set a weight of 2 pounds/1 kilogram on top of it. Allow to cool, then refrigerate.
9. To serve, remove the pâté from the mold and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 1⁄4-inch/0.5-centimeter-thick slices.
Yield: 24 slices; 12 appetizer servings
[ NOTES: 1. If you’re cutting the salmon yourself, you’ll have a lot of trimmings. Use them for or add them to a seafood sausage (page 147) or salmon pâté (page 242), or cure and hot-smoke (see pages 53 and 77) for a smoked salmon spread, mixing to taste with some butter, crème fraîche, sour cream, lemon juice, and fresh herbs. 2. See pages 204–212 for a detailed description of the general terrine method.]
MARYLAND CRAB, SCALLOP AND SAFFRON TERRINE
An Eastern Seaboard terrine—a scallop mousseline flavored and colored a vibrant yellow with saffron, and garnished with whole chunks of crab and green chives. This would be enhanced