I’ve been wanting to try to make a terrine for a while now {what could be more paleo?!} and it just seemed so daunting… So I did a bit of reading and research and I realised that it’s actually quite simple, depending on what you want to put in it, etc etc.

{You’ll be seeing a lot of terrine recipes in the coming week or so, as I try out different recipes and flavours and get the gelatine ratio just right.}

I took the plunge on Friday morning and made a warthog terrine {a bit of déjà vu?!} with the last of my frozen warthog roast leftover from a few weeks ago.

You can really go wild and put anything in your terrine, layering different meats or veggies and creating fun patterns to wow everyone as you cut into it.

This terrine, however, I kept quite simple to see whether it would work in the first place and how the gelatine would set.

For the terrine:

800g or so of roast warthog, diced {any type of roast pork will do – but do see my previous post about the warthog roast}

2 carrots, diced

1 onion, diced

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

1/2 a cup of Sauvignon blanc

1/2 a cup of fruity white wine

salt to season

2 tbs chopped parsley

2 tbs chopped Italian parsley

3 sprigs of thyme leaves

250g streaky bacon, diced

3 tsp gelatine powder, dissolved in a tbs of cold water

Saute onion in olive oil & butter and add carrots. Cook until soft.  Add herbs. Add bacon and cook until the bacon has started to go a golden brown. Add a splash of wine to deglaze the pot. Now add the warthog meat, stock and the rest of the wine and simmer for about half an hour until all the flavours have mingled properly. Season with salt if needed.

Strain the mixture and keep all the juices.  Add your gelatine to the warm juices and stir until the gelatine has fully dissolved. Keep the meat mixture aside and allow it to cool before placing it into a terrine pan. {Or a loaf tin – surely it’s more or less the same?}

1 packet of pitted prunes

1/2 a cup of Cape Ruby (port)

1/2 a cup of fruity white wine (I used Robertsons Beukett)

1/2 a cup of brown sugar

1/2 a cup of water

Bring all of the above to a the boil in a small saucepan and let it simmer until it’s reduced by half.  Remove the prunes from the sauce and add the sauce to the gelatine & meat  sauce {above}.

Let this also cool.

Line two standard loaf pans with clingwrap. Place the prunes into the bottom of the pans, followed by the meat mixture. Don’t pat the mixture in, there should be enough space for the sauce & gelatine to go inbetween and allow everything to set. Pour the gelatine sauce into the pans, over the meat and prunes and wrap the overhanging pieces of clingwrap in to cover everything. Place something on top to weigh it down and place in the fridge to cool and set.

I had mine in the fridge for 9 hours and it came out pretty much set. It did firm up a bit more after another day in the fridge.

I’m so glad I decided to make this on Friday morning, as I got a bit sidetracked in the afternoon and ended up having some lovely wine with my lovely neighbours! I took my sons for a walk {one in the pram and the other on his scooter} and it ended up in a whole neighbourly walk with the neighbour’s kids joining us and then the parents too, as we tried to ‘reign in’ all the kids, which then ended in a spontaneous visit at another neighbour’s house for sundowners. And what a treat it was to then find my yummy terrine in the fridge!

Open up the clingwrap at the top and turn onto a serving plate. Remove all the clingwrap and cut thick slices with a sharp knife.

I simply plated it onto some fresh and crisp romaine lettuce leaves with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Delicious! X