MARKET LUNCH - Mike's chicken terrine

I have finally greeted my new grandson after what seemed like a very long wait, however, the waiting time was not lost as I was able to immerse myself in recipe books and retreat to the kitchen.

Of course, one of the bonuses of staying in Whangarei for a while is a visit to the Farmers’ Market. It’s a real case of the early bird catches the worm but this is a market worth getting up early for. So, last Saturday morning I was up with the larks and with shopping bags in hand I was off to explore. The Whangarei Farmers’ Market is the oldest in Australasia, opening in 1997 – long before we all thought about farmers’ markets. So it’s well established, well patronised and a serious foodies delight.

Huge bunches of fresh herbs for a dollar. Enormous heads of broccoli for two dollars. I could go on and on, but home I went with roasted macadamia nuts, pohutukawa honey, coriander, basil, rocket, bunches of baby beetroot, aged Gouda, fresh flowers, olive oil, oranges and avocados and a small box of perfectly ripe fresh sweet figs.

I hardly needed much inspiration to turn that into a celebratory lunch for friends on Sunday, however, that’s when I remembered Mike’s Chicken Terrine – the perfect accompaniment to my purchases.

It’s important sometimes to think back and remember some of the ‘oldie but goodie’ recipes that lurk in the depths of our recipe folders often scribbled on scraps of paper and fading with time! I must remember to reorganise my recipes next time I have a minute!

Mike was a friend and former employee who sadly passed away last year but his chicken terrine was a real winner and will always be Mike’s Terrine from now on.

All that was left for me to do was make a couple of loaves of my easy no knead ciabatta but that’s another story! Cook it & Love it.

MIKE'S CHICKE TERRINE
Makes 1 terrine

200g sliced belly bacon
1/2 onion, diced
10g butter
250g chicken breast, skin on
500g chicken mince
100g dried apricots, chopped
50g pitted prunes, chopped
50g pistachio nuts
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g diced belly bacon, extra

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Line 1 terrine tin or loaf tin with bacon slices. Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté onions until transparent. Remove skins from chicken breasts and reserve. Roughly chop chicken into large chunks. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken skin and diced bacon and combine thoroughly. Pack into lined tin and cover with bacon followed by reserved chicken skin.

Bake at 180ºC for 1- 1½hours or until juices run clear. Remove from oven and cool. Drain off excess liquid and remove and discard chicken skin. Weight down with something heavy and refrigerate until chilled or overnight.

Remove from tin and wrap in foil. Serve sliced with pickles and salad.