Prosciutto-wrapped chicken & leek terrine

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
Gordon’s make-ahead terrine is the perfect starter when you’re entertaining a crowd

Prep:1 hrs 30 mins
Cook:30 mins
Plus overnight setting

Serves 8
A challenge

Nutrition per serving

kcal 322
fat 17g
saturates 5g
carbs 4g
sugars 2g
fibre 2g
protein 39g
salt 1.09g

Ingredients

4 leeks, sliced
4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
400g mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced if large
2 whole garlic cloves
few thyme sprigs
4 gelatine leaves
300ml strong chicken stock (see Know-how, below)
10 slices prosciutto
800g cooked skinless chicken meat (see Know-how, below)
2 handfuls of a mix of chervil, flat-leaf parsley and tarragon leaves, chopped
small salad leaves, to serve
spiced pears, to serve (see recipe, below)

Tip

Spiced pears
Bring 200g light muscovado sugar and 300ml cider vinegar to the boil with 4 bay leaves, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Peel and cut 750g firm pears into small chunks, then simmer for 5 mins until just starting to soften. Turn off the heat, then leave to cool until ready to serve. Keeps for a week in an airtight container.Know-how
Place 1 large chicken in a stockpot with roughly chopped carrot, leek, onion and celery plus sprig each thyme and parsley. Cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hrs, skimming off any froth. Once cooked, leave to cool, then remove chicken. Strain stock and pick chicken meat off the bones. The stock will need to be reduced further by two-thirds to reach the required level of flavour, for 300ml strong stock you will need to start with about 1 litre of light stock.

Method

Gently cook the leeks for 15 mins in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft, then set aside to cool. In the remaining oil, fry the mushrooms with the garlic and thyme for 2 mins, then set aside to cool. Soak the gelatine in cold water, then heat the stock. Dissolve the gelatine in the stock, season, then set aside. Gather all the ingredients so you have them to hand when you start to assemble the terrine.
Line a terrine dish or loaf tin with cling flim. Line with slices of prosciutto so that they overlap to cover the base and sides, and overhang the edges.
Wet the bottom of the dish with a drizzle of stock. Arrange a single layer of chicken so that everything is even – don’t worry about any gaps – then pour over a little more stock.
Scatter over a layer of mushrooms (discarding the garlic and thyme). Season with salt and pepper, then moisten again with a little more stock.
Add more chicken followed by a layer of leeks, another layer of chicken, then the herbs. Drizzle stock between every layer and season with salt and pepper as you go. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up or the terrine is full to the brim. Finish with a final scattering of herbs, a last ladleful of stock, then tap the dish down a few times so that the stock gets into all the gaps.
Fold the prosciutto over to encase the terrine. Fold the cling film over and press down gently. Sit the terrine in a dish to catch any juices. Lay a tray on top, weigh it down with a can and chill overnight. Twenty mins before serving, remove the tray. Put the terrine in the freezer to firm. Just before serving, lift it out of the dish. Wrap it tightly in more cling film.
Carefully slice the terrine, still wrapped in its cling film. Remove the cling film and place a slice in the centre of each plate. Arrange chunks of spiced pear (recipe below) around terrine. Drizzle a little chicken poaching liquid around the plate, then drizzle with a tiny bit of oil. Neatly scatter a few baby salad leaves over the pear, then season the terrine with some sea salt and pepper before serving.