Chicken Terrine with Leeks & Apricots
Entice your guests with this delightful chicken terrine featuring leeks and apricots, a perfect prelude to the main course. Prepare it up to three days in advance for convenience.
Ingredients
- 1kg chicken thighs on the bone, skin removed
- 500ml fresh chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves plus more to decorate
- handful thyme sprigs
- handful parsley
- 2 leeks finely chopped (keep the trimmings)
- 6 black peppercorns
- 30g butter plus more for the tin
- 1 large or 2 smaller banana shallots finely chopped
- 50g smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
- 2 chicken breasts on the bone, if possible, skin removed
- 50g soft dried apricots chopped
- 3 tbsp brandy
- 4 sheets leaf gelatine
- toast drizzled with olive oil, to serve (we used Crosta & Mollica Pane Pugliese)
Instructions
- Put the chicken thighs into a pan with the stock and a string-tied bundle of 2 bay leaves, a few of the thyme sprigs and a little of the parsley. Add a few leek trimmings, the peppercorns and ½ tsp salt. Add water to just cover the meat, if needed. Bring to the boil, then cover and gently simmer for 30 mins.
- Meanwhile, lightly butter a 900g loaf tin (ours was 12cm x 22cm x 7cm) and line with cling film, leaving plenty of overhang. Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the leeks, shallots and some seasoning. Cook for 10 mins over a medium heat until starting to colour. Add the bacon and garlic and cook for 2 mins more until the bacon is cooked through. Leave to cool.
- Add the chicken breast to the stock mixture and top up with hot water to cover. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for another 20 mins. When ready, the chicken breast will be cooked through, and the thigh meat will pull away easily from the bones. Lift the meat from the pan, drain the stock and leave to cool until it is just warm.
- Discard the bones and any knobbly bits, then roughly chop the chicken. Stir into the leek mixture, along with 2 tsp more thyme leaves, the apricots and the brandy.
- Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 mins until floppy. Squeeze out the excess water, stir into 300ml of the warm stock, then mix with the chicken. Put a few bays leaves in the base of the tin, then spoon the chicken mixture on top and press down well. Cover with the cling film. Leave to cool, then chill thoroughly – overnight is best. Can be made up to three days ahead.
- To serve, slice the terrine while it's still wrapped in cling film, then carefully peel the cling film off each slice. Drizzle the toast slices with olive oil and grill until golden brown and crisp, then sprinkle with a little salt. Serve the terrine with the toast and our yogurt piccalilli & crisp kale salad.
Notes
THE TERRINE JELLY
- For perfectly clear jelly in your terrine, lightly whisk an egg white, then add to the 300ml stock in the pan. Whisk as it comes to a boil, then leave to settle off the heat. Strain the set white from the stock using a fine muslin.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 30gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 0.7mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!