Christmas Pâté en Croûte

Before starting this Christmas Pâté en Croûte, organise all the necessary ingredients for the shortcrust pastry.

For the shortcrust pastry (make the day before): Place the flour and softened butter cut into cubes in the stand mixer recipient.

Add the salt...

... and knead with the flat beater.

We need to obtain a crumble consistency.

At this stage, add the whole eggs...

... the egg yolk...

... as well as 160 grams of water. Add the water gradually to obtain the right consistency.

Start mixing the ingredients at low speed with the flat beater...

... until homogeneous. If there are dry chunks at the bottom of the bowl, add the rest of the water until you get a smooth consistency.

Remove the flat beater and transfer on your worktop surface.

Work the dough (stretching and regathering) to obtain a homogeneous consistency. This will get rid of any remaining chunks of butter left in the dough.

Wrap the pastry with cling film...

... and flatten to a medium thickness.

Refrigerate overnight.

For the stuffing (make the day before) : Remove the nerves from the duck breasts...

... and trim the layer of fat.

Cut the duck breasts into strips so they easily pass through the meat mincer.

Organise all the necessary ingredients. Remove the skin from the bacon and any small bones.

Cut the pork neck into small chunks...

... so they easily pass through the meat mincer.

Start by mincing the pork neck over a mixing bowl. I used the Kitchenaid meat mincer. The grid size will vary according to the desired texture you wish to obtain. I used a large grid Ø 6mm for a coarse texture.

Mince the bacon and the duck breasts/

The duck and pork mince is in the bowl. Set aside.

Using a knife, chop the chicken livers coarsely on a chopping board.

Add the chopped livers to the minced meat.

Season with salt...

... and ground Sichuan pepper You can grind the pepper using a food processor or mortar and pestle.

Grate the nutmeg with the Microplane Classic zester grater over the bowl. Make sure you measure the quantities accurately.

Add the Cognac...

... and combine with your fingers.

Add the whole blanched pistachios...

... and combine until incorporated.

Add the Panko breadcrumbs...

... and combine until homogeneous. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate overnight. This recipe requires a preparation over two days.

The next day, spread the shortcrust pastry with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Roll out the dough to dimensions that will fit your mould. For this recipe I used a pâté en croûte mould with a length of 40cm.

Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin to handle it easily.

Grease the inside of the mould with an oil spray. Spread the oil evenly with your fingers if needed.

Place the shortcrust pastry over the mould and line the inside with the pastry, easing it carefully along the sides and in the corners.

This is what the result should look like at this stage.

Leave a pastry excess of 1 or 2cm on top of the mould. Discard the pastry scraps with scissors.

Roll the pastry excess around the trim to create a border. The seal of the roll should be on the inside of the pâté.

Crimp the pastry border with your fingers to create a scalloped effect. You can also use a pastry crimper. The border should be high enough to contain a layer of jelly on top.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Take the stuffing out of the fridge and fill the pâté mould, pressing it with your fingers to get rid of air bubbles...

... and fill up to the top. The stuffing should reach just below the pastry border. The quantities listed in this recipe allow you to make a pâté en croûte with a length of 40cm.

For the glaze: Mix an egg yolk with a little bit of milk or whipping cream. Apply the eggwash over the pastry border with a brush.

Flatten the surface of the stuffing with a rubber spatula.

Place in a fan-assisted oven preheated to 215°C and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature down to 170°C and continue cooking for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When cooked, remove the mould from the oven...

... and leave to cool at room temperature.

Tip the warm pâté over a bowl to get rid of the cooking juice. This cooking juice would bring too much moisture to the pâté.

For the clear jelly: Bring the water and clear jelly powder to a boil while mixing with a whisk. Add the Madeira wine. Pour the jelly (cold but not jellied) on top of the pâté, as shown in the photo. Reserve in the fridge to set. Once the jelly has set, repeat the operation if there are some gaps left to fill on the surface.

Release the pâté from the mould.

Using a serrated knife, cut the pâté into regular slices. Take extra precautions not to break the pastry border on top.

Arrange the pâté slices on a serving plate.

Reserve in the fridge until ready to serve. Bon appétit!