Country Pate with Prunes and Hazelnuts Recipe
Recipe Type:
Poultry,
Pork,
Veal,
Appetizer,
Prunes,
Hazelnuts
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 90 min
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 shallots, peeled, sliced, and minced
2 cloves
garlic, peeled and minced
1 pound ground chicken breast meat*
1 pound ground veal*
1 pound ground pork*
2 eggs beaten
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
1 cup
fresh bread crumbs, packed
3 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon coarse
salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon each of ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground
black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
About 18 dried and pitted prunes
1/2 cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted (see Note)
Nonstick baking spray for the pan
* Grind the chicken breasts in a food
processor or ask your butcher to do it.
** To toast hazelnuts: Spread
the nuts on a baking sheet with a lip and toast them in a preheated 350 degrees
F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the meat of the nuts is slightly
browned. Put the nuts in a clean tea towel and rub them. About 75% of the
brown, paper-thin inner skins will come off on the towel and that is usually
enough.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the shallots and garlic until soft, approximately 7 to 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sautéed shallots and garlic with the ground chicken, ground veal, ground pork, eggs,
goat cheese, bread crumbs, brandy, salt, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and thyme.
Place 1/3 of this meat mixture in a pate mold or large loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick baking spray. Smooth the top of the mixture with a spatula. Cover with the lightly toasted hazelnuts. Add
another 1/3 of the meat mixture, again patting the surface smooth. Place the pitted prunes on top of this layer, about three to a row, six rows total.
Cover with the remaining meat mixture.
Place the pate-filled pan in a larger size pan. Fill the larger pan with water until the liquid is about halfway up the side
of the smaller pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices are almost clear. Remove from oven. Cool the pate for an hour, cover it with plastic
wrap, then weight it with a brick or a large, heavy can. Refrigerate overnight.
Removed the pate from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the pate.
Cover the pan with a serving platter and flip the pan and the platter upside down. The pate will slip out of the pan, ready for slicing.
Note from Linda: I found that this makes a very large pate loaf. For most parties, 1/2 of
the recipe works well for me.
Serves many.
