michelle picker cooks

This terrine makes a colourful and elegant first course and is bound to impress.

You will need 6 large red peppers, 4-6 zucchinis, 2-3 large eggplants, 1-2 bunches of asparagus, 450g (1 lb) of fresh ricotta, a little vegetable stock and some gelatine. First cut the peppers into large pieces. The best way to do this is to cut off the two ends and then cut the rest into 3-4 pieces. Slice the eggplants and zucchini into long slices  approximately as thick as a pencil. Place the peppers under a hot grill, skin side up, until they char and blister. Place them in a well-sealed container or plastic bag and put them in the fridge – this will make them sweat and soften making them easy to peel. Meanwhile, brush the eggplant and zucchini slices with a little olive oil, season with salt and grill in batches under a grill or on a griddle until just tender. Set aside. Blanch the asparagus un boiling water for 3 minutes and set aside. Now peel the peppers keeping the pieces as large as possible. Prepare a terrine dish or loaf pan by lining it with cling wrap. Lay the asparagus pieces on the bottom then line the bottom and sides with red pepper. In the centre layer slices of zucchini, slices of eggplant and sliced fresh ricotta. When the dish is nearly full use the remaining pieces of red pepper to cover the other layers. Heat 1 cup of  vegetable stock and add 2 soaked sheets of gelatine or 2 teaspoon of powdered gelatine and pour the stock slowly into the terrine. You will have to wait for any bubble of air to rise and you may not need all the stock. When you are satisfied that all the gaps have been filled cover the terrine with more cling wrap and weigh it down with something flat and quite heavy. Refrigerate overnight. To remove the terrine try pulling the cling wrap gently. If this doesn’t immediately work, place the dish briefly into some warm water and try again.