Shrimp and Salmon Terrine with Spinach and Mushrooms

(from koshka’s recipe box)

This is probably the simplest terrine to make at home. It has a rich, smooth shrimp and salmon flavor, and the garnish — a mosaic of green spinach surrounding the salmon fillet in the center — is visually dramatic. The recipe calls for small shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), because they tend to be the least expensive, but any shrimp will work well.

Serves 12 people

Categories: fish, salmon, starter, terrine

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 -inch thick
  • 1 tablespoon/15 grams kosher salt (divided)
  • 1 pound small (26-30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, or rock shrimp
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • 4 ounces spinach leaves (about 2 cups), stems removed and cut into chiffonade (slivered)
  • 10 ounces skinless salmon fillet or buy 2 (5-ounce) center-cut pieces salmon fillet

Directions

  1. Freeze all your blades and bowls before gathering and measuring your ingredients. Heat a large saute pan, then add the oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms, season with 1 teaspoon/7 grams salt, and saute until soft. Remove from the pan and chill. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Place the shrimp and egg white in the food processor and puree. While the machine is running, add the cream in a steady slow stream.
  3. Season with the remaining salt and the white pepper and process to smooth paste. (For an exquisite texture, pass this mixture through a fine sieve.)
  4. Transfer the shrimp mixture to a bowl and fold in the cooled mushrooms and spinach.
  5. Line a 1 1/2 -quart terrine mold with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang on the two long sides to cover the filled mold (moistening the mold first will help the plastic wrap adhere to the corners). Fill with two thirds of the shrimp mixture, lay the salmon fillet in the center (if using 2 fillets, lay them end to end, trimming them as necessary to fit) and push down with your hands so the mousse mixture comes up around the sides of the salmon. Top with the remaining shrimp mixture and fold the plastic wrap cover to cover. Cover with the lid or foil.
  6. Place the terrine in a high-sided roasting pan and add enough hot water (very hot tap water, 150 to 160 degrees) to the pan to come halfway up the sides of the mold.
  7. Put the roasting pan in the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pate registers 150 degrees (about 45 minutes).
  8. Remove the pate from the oven, remove from the water bath and set a weight of 2 pounds on top of it. Allow to cool, then refrigerate.
  9. To serve, remove the pate from the mold and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 1/4 -inch thick slices.

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