Duck And Hazelnut Pate En Croute

Preamble

"Pate. Stunning to look at and delicious to eat, this pate - baked in a rich short crust pastry - combines the robust flavour of duck with the richness of hazelnuts.

It may look complicated but it is quite straight forward to put together. However, it does take time - at least three days from start to serving - and a certain amount of care, particularly when lining the pastry into the mould. But the result is worth the effort. Turn the page and you'll see what we mean."

Ingredients
1 Duck about 1.5 kg
500 g Duck Livers or chicken livers
4 tablespoons Cognac
500 g Hazelnuts ground
250 g lean Pork minced
250 g lean Veal minced
1 tablespoon Green Peppercorns
1 tablespoon chopped Thyme
1 tablespoon Herbes De Provence
Pinch Quatre Epices
Salt And Pepper
10 g Butter
2 tablespoons Oil
2 Eggs
1 Carrot
1 Onion
2 stalks Celery
1 Cloves
Bouquet Garni (Parsley Stalks Thyme Bay Leaf)
350 g Plain Flour
250 g Butter

Method

Three days before you plan to serve the pate remove the flesh from the duck breast, thighs and legs, keeping the pieces of meat as large as possible. Place these in a bowl with the livers, toss them in the Cognac and refrigerate, covered, to marinate overnight.

Make duck stock by placing the duck carcass with all fat and skin removed in a large pan along with the quartered carrot, celery and onion. Stick the clove in one of the pieces of onion. Add cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, skim well, add the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for several hours. Strain the liquid and refrigerate.

On the second day make the pastry by sifting the flour with a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the well-chilled butter cut into bits and quickly rub in until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add four tablespoons of ice cold water and quickly blend to a firm paste with a palette knife. If you have a food processor make the pastry in the usual way. Wrap the pastry in plastic film and refrigerate.

Remove the stock from the refrigerator. Degrease completely and put in a pan on the stove. Bring to the boil and allow to reduce to about 1 1/2 cups. Remove from the heat and place in the refrigerator until just beginning to set.

Meanwhile roll out three-quarters of the pastry (returning the remainder to the refrigerator) and use it to line a pate pan with removeable sides. If such a pan is not available, line a loaf pan with a double thickness of foil, allowing the foil to come well above the sides of the pan. This will make it easier to remove the pate for the final stages of cooking. Place the pastry-lined pan in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Remove duck meat and livers from the marinade and drain. In a large frying pan heat the oil and add the butter. Toss the duck meat and the livers briefly over high heat until just coloured. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl mix the hazelnuts, pork, veal, thyme, green peppercorns, herbes de provence, quatre espices and one egg. Season with salt and pepper. Place a third of the mixture into the pastry-lined pan, pushing in firmly. Top with half the duck meat, then the second third of the mixture, the rest of the duck and finally the last of the nut mixture.

Roll out the remaining pastry. Brush the edges with water to help seal and place on top of the pate. Pinch the two layers together. Cut a couple of holes in the top for steam vents and decorate with pastry scraps. Beat the remaining egg and brush over the top to glaze.

Place the pate in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove and carefully take the sides off the pate pan. Brush the sides of the pate with egg and return to the oven until the pastry becomes golden, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for an hour. Then pour about half a cup of the jellied duck stock into the pate through the steam vents. Place the pate and remaining aspic in the refrigerator to settle overnight.

To serve, slice thinly and hand a bowl with the remaining aspic.