Recipes serve six to eight people.
PATRIOTIQUE VEGETABLE TERRINE
400-450g each of spinach (frozen), carrots and celeriac.
tub of cottage cheese
50g creme fraiche
3 eggs
1 clove of garlic, crushed
freshly grated nutmeg
50g Parmesan
8 tbsp light mayonnaise
5 tbsp of cream
juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp finely diced chives
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Oil a rectangular baking tin and set it aside. Defrost the spinach and drain it thoroughly. Peel, chop and steam the carrots and celeriac.
Puree each vegetable separately. Mix two heaped tablespoons of cottage cheese, one egg and a third of the creme fraiche into each. Mix the crushed garlic into the spinach puree, the nutmeg into the carrots and the Parmesan into the celeriac. Taste and season as you go.
Layer the purees in the baking tin, alternating the colours. Place the tin in an oven dish filled with water and bake for approximately 50 minutes. Let the terrine cool and then refrigerate it before use.
Serve cold with the sauce, which is made by blending the mayo, cream and lemon juice together and adding the diced chives.
HAM EN CROÛTE
1.6kg middle-cut ham
1 packet of ready-rolled frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 medium carrots
1 head of celery
2 leeks
3 onions
1 shallot
250g button mushrooms
cloves
butter or olive oil
chopped flat parsley
2 heaped tbsp each of soft brown sugar and Moutarde de Dijon mixed together
Place the ham in a large saucepan. Cover it with cold water and bring slowly to the boil.
Peel and wash all the vegetables. As soon as the water boils, drain it away. Refill the saucepan with hot water and add the ham, together with two of the carrots, two leeks, two sticks of celery and one of the onions, in which you stick the cloves. Simmer gently for 70 minutes. Drain the ham and let it cool before removing the skin.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Finely dice two more carrots, a celery stick and an onion. Fry together in a pan with a little butter or olive oil, until the vegetables are very soft. In another frying pan cook the finely diced mushrooms, shallot and the third onion until they are soft and most of the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Check the flavourings. Mix the two vegetable mixes together and add plenty of chopped parsley.
To finish the dish, preheat the grill. Cover the fat of the ham with the sugar and mustard mix and place it under the grill until it is brown and crusty.
Put one of the sheets of pastry on an oiled baking tray. Spread the vegetable mixture on it and place the ham on top. Use the second sheet to close the parcel. Seal well, using a little beaten egg, and make decorations with the bits of leftover pastry. Glaze the top with beaten egg and cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked and golden. Serve with a selection of green vegetables
CARAMELISED PINEAPPLE FINGERS
1 large pineapple
500ml fresh cream, beaten until fluffy
4tbsp granulated sugar
50g butter
2tbsp chopped mint and a few drops of green food colouring (optional)
Top and tail the pineapple, remove the skin and cut length wise. Remove the hard centre, and cut in into fingers, each about eight centimetres long.
Heat the butter in the pan and fry the pineapple in it. Sprinkle with the sugar and cook until it starts browning. Place half of the cream in one dish and mix in the chopped mint and food colouring (if using). Serve both creams on the side.
Hugo Arnold's column returns next week.