Rustic French Meatloaf Terrine

After showing my collection of antique French pate terrines on my Kitchen Tour post, someone emailed me and asked why have I never made a terrine before?

Ok, ok. So I will, and I did.

I found a simple recipe in the back of Gourmet magazine, more like a French meatloaf, using pork, veal and chicken livers. I loved the addition of prunes and pistachios, because they just go so well in a good terrine.

And......I decided to use one of my antique pate terrines, and not be afraid of breaking it. After all, that is what their use was meant for.



I made 2 terrines, one wrapped in bacon, the other as the recipe stated.

They came out more like meatloaf than liver pate/terrine. I hardly tasted the liver, which was disappointing, though this was an excellent meatloaf recipe if you want to try something different.



It was best served cold the next day on a baguette w/ Dijon mustard.

Rustic French Meatloaf Terrine (courtesy of Gourmet magazine)

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a rustic loaf)
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound chicken livers, separated into lobes, trimmed, and rinsed
3/4 pound ground pork
3/4 pound ground veal
1/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley





Preheat oven to 475°F with rack in middle.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl.

Cook onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly.

Purée livers in a blender, then transfer to a large bowl. Add pork, veal, prunes, pistachios, thyme, eggs, bread-crumb mixture, onion mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and gently mix with your hands until just combined.



Transfer meatloaf mixture to an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" glass loaf pan (make sure it is glass or ceramic).



Bake covered with foil, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 165°F, 50 to 55 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Cover top of meatloaf with parsley before slicing.