Spring Vegetable Terrine Recipe
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Serve a slice of this vegetable terrine, from Chef Stéphane Reynaud’s new book, Terrine, with a hunk of crusty bread and some simple salad greens for an elegant spring brunch or a light lunch. It’s also ideal for an afternoon picnic, with its assortment of vegetables and herbs loaded into a creamy custard.
Special equipment: You can find terrine molds at specialty kitchen stores and online at Surfas. If you don’t want to buy one, you can substitute a 9-inch loaf pan.
This recipe was featured as part of our Terrines Made Easy story.
Photo Credit: Charlotte Lascève
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz (3/4 cup) broad beans (fava beans)
- 1 tablespoon cooking salt
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz (scant 1 cup) petits pois (baby peas)
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz broccoli, cut into florets
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz green beans, cut into 1-cm / 1/2-inch lengths
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz new carrots, diced
- 100 g / 3 1/2 oz (scant 1 cup) celery hearts, diced
- 4 eggs
- 300 ml / 1/2 pint (1 1/4 cups) double (heavy) cream
- 2 fresh tarragon sprigs
- 2 fresh basil sprigs, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4. Pop the broad beans out of their skins by squeezing gently between your index finger and thumb. Bring a pan of water to the boil, stir in the cooking salt, add the petits pois and broccoli and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan, refresh in iced water and drain. Add the green beans, carrots and celery to the pan and cook for 5–10 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and refresh under cold water. Whisk the eggs with the cream in a bowl and add the petits pois, broccoli, green beans, carrots, celery, broad beans, tarragon and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Line a terrine with cling film (plastic wrap), allowing it to overhang the sides. Spoon in the vegetable mixture, wrap the overhanging cling film over the top to seal and put the terrine into a roasting tin (roasting pan). Pour in boiling water to come about halfway up the sides and bake for 40 minutes, until the tip of a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out and remove the cling film before serving. Serve warm or cold.
Beverage pairing: Domaine Vocoret & Fils Chablis, France. Eggs and cream suggest a white wine of the richer variety, such as Chardonnay. But the fresh spring vegetables with green herbs want a wine that’s a little racier and punchy. The answer is Chablis, Chardonnay grown on pure limestone soils in northern France, a wonderful combiner of rich and racy, stabilized with a mineral core.
Recipe from TERRINE by Stéphane Reynaud (Phaidon, $29.95), www.phaidon.com
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
i'd like to try it without bread and make it into a meat / veg. dish.
i think it would taste AMAZING.
don't you?
sun11, asparagus would be a fine substitute. Just follow the same instructions given for the green beans, or add double of another vegetable existing in the terrine already.
We can't eat green Beans. What do you suggest as a substitute? Asparagus? Or?
Wow, seems like we tend to focus on perceived negatives without first even trying the recipe, so what if the photo wasn't shot by Ansel Adams, loosen up and eat it. Just eat it LoL!
Looks like a St. Andrews garden Terrine straight from the pages of the CIA's New Professional Chef.
this sounds rather bland--anyone have more complex seasoning ideas? Tarragon is nice, but a bit assertive and one-note to me. Maybe basil and....?
i'm fond of terrines because they are easy do-ahead party dishes. layering makes them look much prettier.
no, the cling wrap will not melt in the oven, but for better eye appeal, you can use grape leaves (rinse first). then when you unmold, you fold the down the leaves and have a nice dark green bed beneath.
Looks gorgeous and I'm sure it's scrumptious. Leftovers? It's made with fresh veggies, for crying in San Francisco!
Think I'll try this, can I use canned fava beans?
i love terrines. the terrine in issue should be layered for better eye appeal. it just looks like leftovers thrown into a firm custard.
Agreed, to me that's a gorgeous photo. I will definitely be trying this one out.
There's nothing wrong with the photo; it looks great! It would be fun to substitute green and white asparagus for the broccoli and add leeks.
apple: Chef Reynaud had it in the recipe so we tested it with the cling wrap and had no problems. if you don't want to use the cling wrap, line the mold with parchment paper and leave a few inches hanging off each edge (so that you can get the terrine out easily). tell us how it turns out.
This sounds like an elegant take to work lunch. My question is are you SURE you're supposed to be cling wrap in the oven? Will it melt? Is it safe?
Has James Lileks seen this?
Seriously, I'll bet this terrine is fabulous. The photo doesn't do justice to the dish.
Atomica: Thanks for the feedback but this photo is actually pulled from Stephane Reynaud's book and we did not take it in house. As renz suggests, the terrines does look nice when plated and is quite tasty. Enjoy!
Typical TERRIBLE, inept Chow photo.
It's not a Jello salad here. I think the problem--if any--is that the photo is a bit blunt. Just about any food can be photographed in a way that's unappetizing. I bet this looks nice when it's plated.
Eaterlover: We made it in the test kitchen before we put it on the site. It is indeed a classic terrine but it has a great flavor that's akin to a custardy, crustless quiche packed with spring vegetables. enjoy!
This looks very much like a fifties cook book horror. Has anyone made it? And is willing to share on flavor?