Classic Smoked Salmon Terrine

In the past, I have plenty of time to take pictures of the food that I cook, to the extent of depriving the guy way past lunch time just so I could make sure that I have had enough pictures taken from all the different angles. I would even plug the SD card into the laptop to make sure that the pictures did not just look good on the viewer of the camera, but also from the screen. That was how particular I was in the past when it comes to uploading pictures for my blog posts.

Nowadays, I rarely have the luxury of time to go to the same extent anymore. I cook, I scoop out a portion of the food for the kiddo to let it cool first, and then I set about taking the pictures while making sure the kiddo is occupied somewhere else and out of reach from the food and settings. It’s difficult. He would either be whining about his hunger and wanting me to feed him, or doing damage to the setting. For this photo shoot of the smoked salmon terrine, it was the latter, though miraculously enough, his curious hand actually lent an interesting perspective to the setting which added a layer of meaning to the way this dish was being served. Undoubtedly, this became my favourite shot for the day. See image below.

Well, so much about the kiddo already. Back to the main point of this post, which is a fish loaf recipe that’s served chilled and mostly as an appetiser or breakfast item as it is meant to be light on the stomach. I love how the terrine is made of different layers and textures which results from the different types of fish used, as well as how well-combined the fish is with the herbs and spices used. Basically, you can’t get bored eating this terrine, though be warned that it really IS meant for the fish lover who loves the piscine taste to the moon and back!

Ingredients:

Smoked salmon: 350g (about 20 long slices)
Haddock fillets (or cod/perch or other white fish): 900g, skinned
Salt: to taste
Ground blackpepper: to taste
Egg: 2, beaten
Crème fraîche: 105ml + extra for serving
Caper: 30ml, drained
Peppercorn: 30ml, drained + extra for serving
Dill: 1 stalk, stem removed, to garnish

Method:

Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Grease loaf pan with oil.
Use four-fifths of the smoked salmon slices (about 14 – 15 slices) to line the loaf pan, overlapping each other and hanging out over the top of the pan.
Slice out 2 long and thin fillets from the haddock fillets, about the length of the loaf pan. Cut remaining fillets into small cubes. Season both with salt and blackpepper.
Combine eggs, crème fraîche, capers and peppercorns. Mix in cubed haddock slices. Spoon 1/3 of mixture into loaf pan. Smooth surface with back of spoon, pressing down to compress the mixture.
Wrap remaining smoked salmon around 2 long haddock fillets. Set on top of haddock mixture in loaf pan.
Spoon remaining haddock mixture into loaf pan on top of the haddock wrap. Smooth surface with a spoon. Fold hanging smoked salmon over the haddock mixture. Cover with more salmon slices if necessary.
Place loaf pan in baking tray. Pour boiling water into the tray, halfway up the loaf pan.
Bake 45min till fish is fully cooked.
Remove from oven. Cover loaf pan with foil. Place heavy cans on top of foil to press down. Place in fridge to chill overnight.
Remove loaf pan from fridge 1 hr before serving. Remove cans and foil. Run knife along edges of terrine and invert to remove from pan.
Serve chilled with remainig crème fraîche, peppercorns and dill.