Ham spread terrine is elegant, delicate, and creamy. Decorated with herbs and flavored with cognac, it is very easy to make and you can make it days before your party. Turning leftover ham into a fancy cold ham appetizer
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Italian
Diet Gluten Free
Keyword deviled ham, ham pate, ham spread, ham terrine
Add the grated Parmesan cheese, the Cognac and season with salt and pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, ¼ cup Cognac, salt & pepper
Mix everything with a blender
Whip the heavy cream until fluffy
½ cup heavy cream
Combine with the ham spread with a spatula
Preparing the terrine
Cover the terrine bottom and sides with cling foil
Spread the ham into the mold making sure you are spreading it uniformly top to bottom without leaving any splits or openings where the gelatin can filtrate. Make sure the cling film is all the way to the top over the borders.
Cover and put in the fridge while you prepare the herbs and vegetables for the decoration and the gelatin
Making the gelatin
Soak 6 leaves of gelatin in cold fresh water, about 5 minutes
6 leaves gelatin
In the meantime, you can decorate the ham terrine with herbs and vegetables
Drain the gelatin and melt it in 2 cups of warm water. Simmer until the gelatin is dissolved
2 cups fresh water
Add ¼ of chicken cube to give it some flavor
¼ cube stock
While the gelatin is still warm, gently and gradually pour over the ham terrine, making sure the decoration doesn't move with the stream of the liquid
¼ red onion, 2 cherry tomatoes, 2 sprig fresh parsley
Cover and let it rest for at least 3 hours for the gelatin to solidify
Unmold and serve the terrine
Remove the bottom of the mold and put the terrine on the serving tray. The cling film will keep the terrine in place
Remove the top and the side mold
Lower the cling film from the side of the terrine all the way down over the tray
Put the mold frame and top back on the terrine
Turn it upside down and remove the tray and the cling film
Put back the tray and turn the terrine back straight
Remove the top and the frame of the terrine and the terrine is ready to be served
Serve with some bread or crackers
Video
Notes
Mold to use
My mold is 10'' x 4'' x 3'' - 25 cm x 10 cm x 7 cm, it is slightly bigger than the one on Amazon but it was not totally filled, so the one on the link will be big enough for this quantity. Although the shape is longer and thinner than mine.
As I need to pour the liquid gelatin on top of the ham, I cover the mold bottom and frame with cling film. So if the liquid filter through the spread, it will not spill out from the removable bottom of the mold.
If you are not adding the gelatin you don't need the cling film
About the gelatin
Leaves and powered gelatin are the same thing, you can use either. Normally 1 leaf of gelatin is equal 1 teaspoon of powered gelatin, or 3 leaves equal 1 tbsp. It is very important to use the exact amount of gelatin per volume of water otherwise the gelatin will be too liquid.
The gelatin you buy usually does not have any flavor as it can be used for sweet as well as savory recipes.
About the decoration
To make my decoration I used red onion rings, parsley and cherry tomatoes. You can use your imagination and use any other vegetables or herbs. Although, I do recommend making the design first on the cover of the terrine to make sure it looks good and nothing is missing.Once you are happy with the design, lay it over the ham spread inside the terrine.
You need to have the terrine and the decoration ready before you make the gelatin, as the gelatin will solidify as soon as it cools down. The gelatin should be poured over the terrine as soon as it is ready.
The stream of the liquid gelatin can move the decoration, so it has to be poured gradually with a ladle and very slowly.
Once the gelatin is poured, cover the terrine and place it in the fridge moving it very slowly.
I would recommend to assemble the terrine on a table close to the fridge so you don't have to carry it for too long.
Once the terrine is in the fridge open the top and check that the herbs and the vegetables in the composition are still in place.