The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CHRISTIANE’S DINNER PARTY TERRINE
“There are some dishes that just stop the show as soon as you bring them to the table, and this is one of them,”writes cookbook author Dorie Greenspan about Christiane’s Dinner Party Terrine, in her newly released “Everyday Dorie” (A Rux Martin Book/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $35). This rich egg-and-cream custard studded with vegetables makes for a fine starter, side dish or even an entree when rounded out with a salad or well-dressed vegetables. Greenspan recommends serving it with tomato-basil sauce.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped, rinsed and patted dry 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and finely chopped Fine sea salt
5 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly
sliced
1 cup chopped fresh basil or a mix of herbs Freshly ground pepper
9 large eggs
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Rub the inside of an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with a little butter or oil. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides to use as handles; it’s fine if the short ends of the pan are bare. Butter or oil the paper. Have a roasting pan to hold the terrine at hand.
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the onion and peppers, season with salt and cook, stirring, until the vegetables soften but do not color, about 8 minutes. Scrape the mix into a bowl. Stir in the scallions and basil or other herbs, season with salt and pepper and cool for about 5 minutes.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and cream together until well blended. Season with salt and pepper, add the vegetables — leaving behind any liquid that has accumulated in the bowl (it’s important that the vegetables not be wet) — and stir to mix well. Turn the mixture out into the prepared loaf pan. Place the pan in the roasting pan and fill the roaster with enough very hot water to come halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Carefully slide the setup into the oven.
Bake for about 90 minutes, loosely covering the terrine with a foil tent after 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the terrine comes out clean. The terrine will rise a little, and it may crack, and that’s fine. Carefully remove the pan from the roasting pan and transfer it to a rack. Let rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding the terrine: Run a table knife around the sides, unmold it onto a serving platter, and peel away the parchment paper.
The terrine is ready to serve when it is just warm, or let cool to room temperature. Or, if you’d like, refrigerate it and serve it chilled. The terrine can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Makes 8 servings.
Per serving: 309 calories (percent of calories from fat, 82), 9 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 28 grams fat (14 grams saturated), 310 milligrams cholesterol, 101 milligrams sodium.
From “Everyday Dorie” by Dorie Greenspan, copyright 2018. Reprinted with permission from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.