Vegetable Terrine
Serves 8 (as a starter)
3 leeks
150g mange tout
150g green beans
2 yellow peppers
2 red peppers
4 artichoke hearts divided into quarters
3 eggs
2 buffalo mozzarella
rosemary, thyme, oregano
Cut the top green part of the leeks and throw it away. Also remove and throw the first 2 leaves from the leeks. Then continue to take away the rest of the leaves leaving only the core of the leek and keep these aside. Bring a large pan of water to boil. Put the leek leaves in the boiling water for 5 minutes and then leave to drain in a colander. Pat them dry with a cloth.
Now wash the peppers, leave them whole and put them under the grill until they are blackened from all sides. When ready put them in a plastic bag and leave them to stand for about 10 minutes. In the meantime chop the remaining leek cores, wash the green beans and mangetout and cut their ends. Cut the artichoke hearts in 4 parts. (You can use frozen artichoke hearts or the ones in jars). Now take the peppers out from the plastic bag and peel their skin, clean the seeds and cut them into wide strips. Also chop the mozzarella into cubes and leave it in a colander to drain its own water.
Subsequently, wet and squeeze a piece of baking paper the size of your dish and line the dish with it. You can use a rectangular loaf tin for this recipe. Prepare the eggs by beating them. Take a large pan put some olive oil and start cooking the vegetables. Put the chopped leeks first, then add the green beans and mangetout, and finally the artichoke hearts. Leave for 10 – 15 minutes to cook adding some warm water if veg are too dry. Put in the chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.
Take the dish and start putting the leaves of the leeks on all sides – leave them hanging out from the border of the dish so that you can wrap the terrine up in the leek leaves. When the tray is lined start putting the first layer of coloured peppers then brush them with the beaten egg. Continue layering the other vegetables, add a layer of mozzarella and brush it up with the eggs. Repeat the layers of veg, mozzarella and beaten egg until finished. Wrap up with leek leaves, cover with foil and put in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius and cook for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes uncovered. When ready leave to cool, slice into thick pieces and serve warm dressed with some good quality olive oil.
