Chicken liver and pork terrine

Ingredients

½ Tbsp	Butter
2 cloves	Garlic, crushed
1	Onion, medium, diced
300 g	Streaky bacon
400 g	Chicken livers, cleaned (Main)
300 g	Pork shoulder, diced (Main)
1 tsp	Ground nutmeg
3 tsp	Fresh thyme
2 Tbsp	Brandy
1	Egg, beaten
½ tsp	Mixed spice
⅓ cup	Cream
½ cup	Chicken stock
1	Salt & freshly ground pepper, to season
½ cup	Pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped
4	Bay leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Dice half of the bacon and fry in a hot pan with the butter. Remove and set aside.
2. Fry the onion, livers, pork, garlic, thyme and mixed spice in batches, just enough to soften but not colour. The livers should remain raw in the middle. Transfer to a large bowl between batches. Add the brandy to the last batch and flambe (see tip below).
3. Remove livers and chop, add back to the other ingredients, then process in a food processor. This mixture can be coarse but if you prefer it smooth, press through a sieve.
4. Fold through the cream, stock, egg, nutmeg and seasoning through the mixture.
5. Line a 1 litre terrine mould with the remaining bacon, allowing it to hang over the edges so it can be folded over the top of the terrine. Spoon in half the filling, top with pistachios then the remainder of the filling. Place the bay leaves on the top and fold the bacon over.
6. Cover with a lid or foil. Place into a baking dish and pour enough water to reach halfway up the sides. Bake for 1 ¼ hours. When you remove the terrine from the oven, place a weight on the top and leave until cold or overnight. Serve with fresh bread and pickles.

Chef's tipWhen using chicken livers, you need to make sure they are cleaned. This means cutting off any slightly green tissue, which can give a bitter flavour, and removing the connecting threads. To flambe, which intensifies flavour, lightly heat the alcohol, then tip to the side of the pan and ignite. Once the flames have finished, you are ready to go. Make sure the extractor fan is off in case flames are drawn upwards.