Summer Vegetable Terrine
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Ingredients:
a handful of haricots verts, trimmed
4 golden beets, trimmed with1/2-inch of stems intact, cleaned off dirt
fresh chives, cut in shorter pieces
2 small envelopes of gelatin
2 medium carrots, cut in small pieces
3 stalks of scallions, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 cup dry white wine
whole peppercorns
oil, salt and pepper
1. Roast beets. Preheat oven to 450º. Wrap beets in heavy-duty foil and put in a shallow baking pan. Roast for about 1 hour and a half. Let steam in foil for an extra 10 minutes outside the oven. When cool enough to handle, gently squeeze to peel off skin. Cut into wedges and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Make the gelatin mixture. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil with white wine, shallots, scallions, peppercorns and salt over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme and half of the chives and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour stock through a fine mesh and discard solids. Save 2 1/2 cups of the stock.
3. Make the gelatin. In 1/4 cup of water, stir in gelatin powder and let stand for a minute to soften. Add to the gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
4. Prepare haricots verts while roasting beets. Boil in salted water for about 7 minutes. Blanche in ice water to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Assemble terrine. Lightly oil a nonreactive terrine or loaf pan. Line the bottom and sides with Saran wrap while smoothing out the wrinkles and leaving overhang around the pan. Pour about 1 cup of the gelatin mixture and quick-chill in freezer for about 20 minutes. When the first layer of gelatin is set, lay some of the haricots verts over, sprinkle with some chives and top with some of the beets. Repeat layering until all vegetables are used leaving some space between them for the gelatin to fill and hold them together. Stir the remaining gelatin mixture again and pour over vegetables except for 1/2 cup. Make sure all the vegetables are covered with the gelatin mixture. Chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, until the top is set, about 2 hours. Stir the remaining gelatin mixture and pour over set terrine. Put the terrine back in the refrigerator and chill until firm.
6. When ready to serve, run a thin knife along the sides of the terrine. Invert on a plate and gently pull off Saran wrap to help unmold. Carefully slice and transfer on a plate using a spatula. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.