Prosciutto-wrapped chicken & leek terrine

Prosciutto-wrapped chicken & leek terrine

Gordon's make-ahead terrine is the perfect starter when you're entertaining a crowd

Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

plus overnight setting

Method

  1. Gently cook the leeks for 15 mins in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft, then set aside to cool. In the remaining oil, fry the mushrooms with the garlic and thyme for 2 mins, then set aside to cool. Soak the gelatine in cold water, then heat the stock. Dissolve the gelatine in the stock, season, then set aside. Gather all the ingredients so you have them to hand when you start to assemble the terrine.
  2. Line a terrine dish or loaf tin with cling flim. Line with slices of prosciutto so that they overlap to cover the base and sides, and overhang the edges.
  3. Wet the bottom of the dish with a drizzle of stock. Arrange a single layer of chicken so that everything is even - don't worry about any gaps - then pour over a little more stock.
  4. Scatter over a layer of mushrooms (discarding the garlic and thyme). Season with salt and pepper, then moisten again with a little more stock.
  5. Add more chicken followed by a layer of leeks, another layer of chicken, then the herbs. Drizzle stock between every layer and season with salt and pepper as you go. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up or the terrine is full to the brim. Finish with a final scattering of herbs, a last ladleful of stock, then tap the dish down a few times so that the stock gets into all the gaps.
  6. Fold the prosciutto over to encase the terrine. Fold the cling film over and press down gently. Sit the terrine in a dish to catch any juices. Lay a tray on top, weigh it down with a can and chill overnight. Twenty mins before serving, remove the tray. Put the terrine in the freezer to firm. Just before serving, lift it out of the dish. Wrap it tightly in more cling film.
  7. Carefully slice the terrine, still wrapped in its cling film. Remove the cling film and place a slice in the centre of each plate. Arrange chunks of spiced pear (recipe below) around terrine. Drizzle a little chicken poaching liquid around the plate, then drizzle with a tiny bit of oil. Neatly scatter a few baby salad leaves over the pear, then season the terrine with some sea salt and pepper before serving.
Try

Know-how

Place 1 large chicken in a stockpot with roughly chopped carrot, leek, onion and celery plus sprig each thyme and parsley. Cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hrs, skimming off any froth. Once cooked, leave to cool, then remove chicken. Strain stock and pick chicken meat off the bones. The stock will need to be reduced further by two-thirds to reach the required level of flavour, for 300ml strong stock you will need to start with about 1 litre of light stock.

Spiced pears

Bring 200g light muscovado sugar and 300ml cider vinegar to the boil with 4 bay leaves, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Peel and cut 750g firm pears into small chunks, then simmer for 5 mins until just starting to soften. Turn off the heat, then leave to cool until ready to serve. Keeps for a week in an airtight container.

PER SERVING

322 kcalories, protein 39g, carbohydrate 4g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 2g, sugar 2g, salt 1.09 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo arthouse

    02 April 2009

    arthouse rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A stunning recipe. Takes time and is a little tricky but my guests were very impressed. I used raspberry vinegar rather than cider vinegar for the pears and this worked well. By the way, the amounts of ingredients appears enormous but it does all fit into a 2lb loaf tin - you'll be surprised!

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  • Binder photo elizabeth

    02 April 2009

    elizabeth rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    We were very disappointed in this, sorry Gordon! Having poached the chicken according to the instructions it was pretty tasteless. I then had to reduce 3litres of stock to 1litre which took hours, though I must admit it tasted good. I hoped the flavour of the stock would help the finished product. The leeks seemed slimy though I was careful not to overcook them and the layer of raw herbs added a grainy almost gritty texture, yuk! I had planned to make it for a dinner party but, fortunately, did a trial run on the family first. They all gave it a big thumbs down. The pears were good and helped with the flavour.

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  • Binder photo JOOLES

    03 April 2009

    JOOLES commented on this recipe

    I see Elizabeth thinks the chicken was pretty tasteless after the poaching, i must admit i thought this when i read the recipe. Does anyone think it would be ok to use a ready cooked chicken from a rotiserie at the supermarket and i also thought the stock would take ages to reduce, so how about using Knorr ready made chicken stock, do you think this would work??? I'm sure Gordon would do his nut if he read my comment, but all the same does anyone agree this would work???

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  • Binder photo Vinny

    04 April 2009

    Vinny commented on this recipe

    I think if you use an organic chicken rather than a battery chicken you will notice an increase in flavour. I can only assume the herbs used by Elizabeth were the dried variety. Fresh herbs will not give a gritty sensation and again will intensify the flavour.

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  • Binder photo Vince

    07 April 2009

    Vince commented on this recipe

    Just tried making this and it's not exactly a success... but then again I'm a beginner cook trying to escape the confines of university-student food and takeaways. I used a loaf pan that I'm guessing was slightly bigger than the one used by the recipe, and I'm also thinking that the gelatine leaves Ramsay used are much bigger than the one I used-- because when I cut the terrine, the half close to the top of the dish did not hold but the bottom did, indicating that the gelatine settled and was not enough for the whole loaf pan.

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  • Binder photo Vince

    07 April 2009

    Vince commented on this recipe

    Also, I must think that Ramsay really loves his leeks... because 4 leeks were simply overpowering... and I'm not exactly a fan of that type of flavour, though I thought a moderate amount wouldn't have hurt... but this was a real battering of leeks! I think I'd replace it with asparagus next time. Spiced pears were fine and I didn't have a stockpot for making the stock, so I had to make do with Knorr! Overall, this was probably too advanced for me, but I'd definitely challenge myself again when I get better at the art!

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  • Binder photo elizabeth

    29 April 2009

    elizabeth commented on this recipe

    Sorry, I forgot to say that I used an organic chicken and fresh herbs.

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  • Binder photo Zoe's Binder

    21 May 2009

    Zoe's Binder commented on this recipe

    This was absolutely delicious... the poached pears which accompany the terrine worked very well both in terms of texture and flavour. I wouldn't use as many leeks in future as I seemed to have too much mixture for the size of tin suggested. Also, I didn't use half the recommended amount of flat leaf parsley and it was still a little overpowering. I really would recommend anyone not to use the quantity recommended in the recipe - it would be too bitter and would overpower the delicate flavours of the chicken etc. However, I did use slightly more prosciutto. The tip of slicing it whilst still in the cling film is an absolute must, otherwise it will fall apart. Keeps well for a couple of days... actually tasted better a day old!

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  • Binder photo samstone

    20 June 2009

    samstone commented on this recipe

    Sorry it may just be me but I read the recipe as 800g of cooked chicken, it does not say use the chicken that you've made the stock with, I'm not surprised that people found the chicken tasteless if it had been boiled for two hours!!

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  • Binder photo Janet

    01 August 2009

    Janet commented on this recipe

    I thought this was bland and disappointing. A lot of effort for a poor result.

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  • Binder photo Bronwen

    19 August 2009

    Bronwen commented on this recipe

    I have made this recipe 3 times now since I saw it in the magazine and it has worked every time! I disagree with the comments about the poached chicken being tasteless, I think if you use a good quality chicken then this should not be the case. I certainly didn't find my chicken tasteless. I have served this at 2 dinner parties and the guests all loved it. It's an impressive starter that caters for many tastes as you can experiment with the ingredients. My boyfriend can't get enough of this, he loves it, he is currently begging me to make it again for our next party!

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  • Binder photo wannabecook

    10 September 2009

    wannabecook rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Wonderful dish. Much easier than it appears and it looks and tastes great. The texture was also amazing. Definately be doing this one again.

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  • Binder photo wannabecook

    10 September 2009

    wannabecook commented on this recipe

    I should add that, being a beginning cook and having a rather small kitchen, being able to prepare the starter the day before saved me a lot of stress for my first ever dinner party.

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  • Binder photo Sheila

    13 May 2010

    Sheila commented on this recipe

    I made this recipe in March 2010 and it was very good, a little fiddley I'll admit. I used a free range chicken, which was deliciously moist and quite flavoursome. It certainly does give that wow factor start to a dinner party.

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  • Binder photo Lemonychoc

    03 October 2010

    Lemonychoc rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely stunning, very flavoursome and impressive, will definately make again. Served it for a dinner party starter and all loved it. Top marks. Perfect to make the day before and on the day just slice it up decocrate with the pears and off you go.

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  • Binder photo ERobertson

    03 October 2010

    ERobertson rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Just made this dish for friends and it was a massive hit. I disagree with previous comments which say the chicken was bland. Poaching it made it incredibly tender and reducing the stock right down gave it a really intense flavour.

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  • Binder photo HelenMacbeth

    22 November 2010

    HelenMacbeth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was absolutely lovely! The ingredients were just enough to fill a 2lb loaf tin. I made it the day before for a dinner party so was lovely and easy to just serve up on the night. Looked very impressive and I was dead chuffed with the compliments from everyone. Will be making this one again!

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  • Binder photo Sarah

    23 November 2010

    Sarah commented on this recipe

    help i would really like to make this but cant work out from all the comments whether people used the chicken they made the stock with or one theyd poached for less time?

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  • Binder photo LRademaker

    10 February 2011

    LRademaker rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Florence

    30 May 2011

    Florence rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely Delicious!!!!

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Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

plus overnight setting

Ingredients

  • 4 leeks , sliced
  • 4 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for greasing
  • 400g mixed wild mushrooms , cleaned and sliced if large
  • 2 whole garlic cloves
  • few thyme sprigs
  • 4 gelatine leaves
  • 300ml strong chicken stock (see Know-how, below)
  • 10 slices prosciutto
  • 800g cooked skinless chicken meat (see Know-how, below)
  • 2 handfuls of a mix of chervil , flat-leaf parsley and tarragon leaves, chopped
  • small salad leaves , to serve
  • spiced pears , to serve (see recipe, below)
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PER SERVING

322 kcalories, protein 39g, carbohydrate 4g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 2g, sugar 2g, salt 1.09 g

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