This trip is even more exciting this year because I'm staying beyond the usual week, skipping over to Montpelier for the second week to visit one of my best friends and then returning to Italy for the final third week for the Slow Food Film Festival in Bra.
Though preparing for this trip has made it difficult for me to cook or write as a much for my blog, I sat down today, intent upon writing something before I departed, and discovered that conveniently enough, the few recipes I still had to write about happen to be problem kids of sorts. These were the dishes I just couldn't decide about or wrap my brain around.
So here we have the three-coloured terrine. I generally think that all terrines and mousses should inevitably involve duck or liver or some other meat product. Even salmon mousse has left me doubting - though I've discovered it has nothing to do with the taste. Whenever I try one, I find it is quite delicious and undeserving of my apprehension. Nonetheless, time goes by and I find my self yet again skeptically eyeing the brightly coloured mousses or terrines and then opting to select a more earth-toned liver-packed one.
I decided on this terrine because I thought at the very least it would look pretty, and I could begin to overcome my terrine prejudice.The preparation was fairly straight-forward, and satisfyingly colourful. I boiled 3 1/2 cups of peas and 14 ounces of chopped carrots in two separate pans of salted water for around 20 minutes. I cooked 7 ounces of spinach in a few sprinklings of water for 5 minutes. Then I puréed each of the vegetables in a separate bowl. I added an egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of cream to each and seasoned with salt and pepper.
I added 2 tablespoons of ricotta to the spinach and set the three bowls aside. I whisked 3 egg whites until stiff, then folded a third into each of the vegetable purées. Then I spooned half of the pea mixture into a greased terrine, followed by half of the carrot mixture, then all of the spinach mixture, the other half of the carrot and finally the rest of the pea mixture. I covered the terrine with aluminium foil, then baked it for 40 minutes in a pre-heated 375º oven.
Well, it didn't turn out as prettily as I hoped it would but I chalked that up to lack of proper terrine mold paired with my lack of experience. The texture was nice: smooth, light & fluffy. As for the flavour, I am completely befuddled. I feel that it lacked something, but perhaps it was merely too subtle for me to appreciate.Placed on a table that also held chicken liver pâté & caviar tartines, I have to admit, I was underwhelmed by its taste.
However, while my tasty grade for this dish will not be stellar, I've decided to take the opportunity ahead of me and seek out vegetable terrines while in Italy and France to see what it should really taste like. Then perhaps I will try this recipe again. Or I may just decide to stick with the terrines I've always enjoyed. We'll see.
And now, I must wish you a happy three weeks for I've decided that lugging The Silver Spoon with me to Europe is a bit absurd. I promise to return invigorated and excited to attempt to recreate the delectable morsels I've discovered in my travels.
Tasty Factor: C+ Ease of Preparation: B- Modifications: None.
