Terrine de Poireaux
"There is no such thing as Jewish Alsatian cooking. It is Alsatian cooking,” Chef Gilbert Brenner told me over lunch at his restaurant, Wistub Brenner, with a view over the Lauch River in Colmar, a charming city in southern Alsace that has had a Jewish presence since at least the eleventh century. “Jewish cooks adapted the dietary laws to what was available here,” Monsieur Brenner told me. “France didn’t create dishes. Families created the dishes. It is the cooking of their grandparents and reatgrandparents.” Looking over the menu at Brenner’s popular restaurant, I was taken by this extraordinary leek terrine, which I later learned was put on the menu for Gilbert’s Jewish customers and friends who keep kosher or are vegetarians. During the short asparagus season in the spring, Gilbert substitutes asparagus for the leeks. The recipe is a modern version of very old savory bread puddings, like schaleths (see page 251).
To substitute asparagus for the leeks, boil sixteen large spears in salted water until bright green and barely cooked through. Remove the asparagus from the water, and plunge them into ice water for about 10 minutes. Drain the asparagus and pat them dry, then cut them to fit in the terrine. Cover half of the asparagus with the batter, and proceed as with leeks.
Recipe information
Yield
8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 5-by-12-inch or 4-by-10-inch terrine pan, and then line it with plastic wrap.
Step 2
Bring a pot half full of water with a tablespoon of salt to a boil, add the leeks, and boil for 10 minutes, or until fork-tender. Remove them gently from the water, and plunge them into ice water for about 10 minutes. Drain well, pat very dry, and cut the leeks in half lengthwise.
Step 3
Sauté the mushrooms in the butter in a small frying pan, seasoning them with salt and pepper to taste, until they are golden brown—about 5 minutes. Spread half the cooked mushrooms and any remaining butter evenly in the bottom of the prepared terrine.
Step 4
Pour the milk into a large bowl. Dip the bread in the milk and squeeze gently to remove the excess liquid. Place the bread, the eggs, the cream, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the nutmeg, and the cayenne pepper in the bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Purée until creamy and uniform, and pour about a third of the mixture into the terrine. Press half of the leeks gently lengthwise into the terrine, cover with another third of the batter, and scatter on the remaining mushrooms. Repeat, using up the remaining leeks and remaining batter.
Step 5
Cover the terrine with aluminum foil, and place it in a baking pan filled with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until set and no longer wobbly in the center. Once it is cool enough to handle, unmold the terrine by flipping it over onto a serving plate. Slice, and serve warm or at room temperature. You can also cut the terrine into about ten slices in the mold. Then, when ready to serve, just microwave the slices and serve on individual plates.
