Hen and Pea Terrine

Name: Hen and Pea Terrine (Terrina di Gallina e Piselli)
Yield: Serves 12 as a first course
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: pane carasau, for serving; pickled vegetables, such as cornichons and onions, for serving; 1 small bunch thyme; 150 g chestnuts; 1 small bunch dill; 100 ml red mirto; 8 leaves titanium-strength gelatine; 1 × 1.6 kg pullet (young hen); 1 small brown onion, roughly chopped; 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped; 375 g green peas in pods, shelled; 1 stalk celery heart, roughly chopped; 3 cloves garlic, sliced; extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling; salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 500 g rock salt; 2 litres Chicken Stock; ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley

Terrina di Gallina e Piselli

Preparation info

Serves
12
as a first course

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Sardinian Cookbook

By Giovanni Pilu and Roberta Muir

Published 2012

About

This dish is always made with a hen, never a rooster, so buy a good free-range or corn-fed pullet (a hen less than a year old) that has plenty of flavour. In Sardinia the hen is wrapped in myrtle leaves to marinate. I haven’t seen myrtle for sale in Australia, but it grows quite well; if you have some in your garden, place the hen on a bed of leaves in the dish and cover with more leaves once you’ve poured the mirto over it. Wild fennel would usually be used in the marinade, but dill is a g