Seafood Terrine

WHITE FISH TERRINE WITH SALMON ROE AND DILL

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Oil terrine mold and line bottom with a sheet of wax paper (cut to fit), then oil paper.
• Remove any visible silver skin or sinew from fish and cut on either side of pin bones until all pin bones have been removed, then cut fish into 1-inch pieces. Purée fish with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg in a food processor until very smooth. Add egg white and purée until incorporated, then transfer mixture to a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice.
• Set tamis, screen side up, over a plate and work fish mixture through sieve about 2 tablespoons at a time with scraper until all that remains is sinews. Continue to work fish through sieve, scraping strained fish from underside of tamis from time to time and transferring to a large bowl set in another bowl of ice.
• Weigh strained fish to determine equal amount of cream (1 cup cream weighs 8 ounces). Then, keeping fish mixture over ice, stir cream into fish mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, with a large rubber spatula until all cream is incorporated.
• Transfer one fourth of mixture to a small bowl and stir in dill. Gently fold salmon roe into remaining fish mixture.
• Spread about two thirds of roe mixture in terrine and create a wide trough lengthwise along the middle with back of a spoon. Fill trough with dill mixture, mounding it slightly and smoothing surface. Cover with remaining roe mixture and rap mold firmly on counter to compact terrine. Smooth top with offset spatula and cover surface with an oiled sheet of wax paper (oiled side down).
• Bake in awater bath until terrine is firm to the touch and separates easily from sides of mold and thermometer inserted diagonally through paper into center of terrine registers 110 to 120°F (a metal skewer or thin knife plunged to bottom of terrine for 5 seconds and removed will feel hot), 40 to 45 minutes.
• Transfer terrine in mold to a rack and let cool 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding.
• To unmold, remove wax paper and run a thin knife around inside edge of mold. Invert a cutting board or serving dish over terrine, then reinvert and remove mold and wax paper, blotting any excess liquid. Cut terrine into slices with a sharp knife, supporting each slice as cut with a flat metal spatula and transferring as cut to small plates.
• *Available at bridgekitchenware.com.

FISH TERRINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Wash and coarsely chop leeks or onions. Over medium heat, add oil to a skillet and sauté leeks for several minutes, until they are no longer opaque. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Pour in wine and reduce heat slightly to allow liquid to simmer. Stir occasionally until liquid is nearly gone. Place leeks in a food processor or blender and process to a coarse purée.
• Chop cooked shrimp into large dice. Flake poached fish with a fork. In a large bowl mix together tomato purée, cream, leeks, and fish. Taste and add salt and pepper, if desired. Stir in whole eggs and yolks. Add shrimp.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into fish mixture, adding one-third or half of the whites at a time.
• Grease a baking pan or mold and scatter or press bread crumbs along bottom. Pour fish mixture over bread crumbs. Bake in a hot water bath or bain marie for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Slide a knife along the sides to loosen terrine from mold. Place a plate on top and invert to coax the preparation to fall away from the mold.
• Sauce:
• Whisk mayonnaise, adding ketchup and mustard until all ingredients are blended. Stir in the piment d'Espelette and Armagnac or brandy. Spoon a bit of sauce over each serving of fish terrine.
• Author Marina Chang's tips:
• While the shrimp adds texture and interest to the final terrine, for those allergic to shrimp, this can be omitted without any loss of flavor.
• When placing the filled mold into the hot water bath in the oven, I find it is easiest and safest to first place the empty outer pan onto the oven rack, then place the filled mold into the pan, and lastly, carefully pour hot water into the outer pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the fish mold.
• On occasion, to avoid the extra steps of preparing the mold and the water bath, I have baked the terrine mixture in a pie crust, at the same oven temperature, until the crust is golden and the center is no longer liquid.

PARTY SEAFOOD TERRINE

Steps:

• Pick through crabmeat to remove any shells.
• In a 2-quart mixing bowl, blend all ingredients. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary, and pour mixture into an oiled terrine mold. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove from mold and garnish with French bread or garlic croutons.
• NOTE: to enhance presentation of terrine, you may wish to color 2 cups of mayonnaise: 1 with red food coloring and 1 with green.
• Using a pastry bag with a star tip, pipe colored mayonnaise around base of terrine.
• Garnish top of terrine with a small amount of colored mayonnaise and a fresh tomato rose. Looks beautiful in Christmas.