A Star* From Yorkshire
Pressed Terrine of Yorkshire Gammon with Fried Ledstone Quail Egg, Spiced Pineapple Pickle, Mustard Seed Dressing
This is a really pleasing take on the classic gammon, egg and pineapple.
Before I get down to the business of convincing you that this is not such a challenging recipe and will handsomely repay any small effort, here is the genesis of it appearing in our kitchen.
Diana Henry's, 'The Gastropub Cookbook' received as a present (not in 2003 at publication... probably around 2008).
Made note of various recipes and restaurants from that book, especially Andrew Pern's Yorkshire pub.
Finally (July 2014) booked for lunch at The Star Inn, Harome for our thirty-eighth wedding anniversary.
Duly enjoyed that lunch as a lovely, memorable meal which I then reviewed at some length.
Unwrapped 'Black Pudding and Foie Gras' on my sixty-fifth birthday last year.
Travelled up to Harome later that same day and had one of my finest ever birthday meals** (I'm being very honest. It was wonderful... but other chef's still force their way into that roll-call).
Gave my new recipes proper consideration and determined to include this terrine as part of our Christmas food.
Made and enjoyed as planned... and will be made and enjoyed again.
The recipe is available here if your order for Andrew Pern's first book hasn't yet been delivered.
We all know the rules by now. So, here is your starter for ten... out of ten.
This is some of what you will be getting up to when you make your own.
Two generous ham hock ends here with their cooking vegetables and aromatics. Meat waiting to be stripped and shredded.
Layering up makes the whole thing start to look very promising. I would be grateful if you don't share this post with my Mum... she's been wondering what happened to her Le Creuset dish for quite some time now!
With the addition of jellied stock and an overnight fridge vacation you should have a thing of beauty whose 'joy' is unlikely to last for ever... so you'll just have to make another!
I sliced the whole thing, keeping four portions for that evening's starter, and froze the rest. They made a dainty supper at Christmas with the last of the pickle and a discussion of the latest Star Wars movie. More contact with stellar stuff!
The pineapple pickle and the dressing are very easy to make. I did use quail eggs but if they are tricky to find I'm sure you could substitute a confit yolk from a chicken. A whole large egg would have to be carefully placed or trimmed so as not to hide the slice of terrine.
I failed to be truly authentic... Grimsby isn't in Yorkshire! But our quality butcher and a lady whose quails lay eggs for doorstep sales are within half a mile of our house.
This recipe had been available to me for ages before I made it. Please don't make the same mistake. Make this your next job in the kitchen. You will be rewarded with a perfect, scaled-down version of a pub classic.***
* Star/Starter/Star Turn: delete where applicable.
** That terrific sixty-fifth birthday meal last October is still nagging at me. Not just visions of the wonderful Yorkshire produce and its cooking but the memories of lovely people who made it possible. Those particular 'stars' at Harome need proper recognition... expect my overdue review soon.
*** Hey, if you really don't feel up to the (minimal) challenge, at the time of writing this is on the menu at the relatively new venture, 'Star Inn The City', York!