Sherry, Chorizo & Quince Terrine

There are certain things that mark the changing of the seasons for me. The smell in the air of the first fires in the grate. The hedgerows turning from green to gold. The sudden appearance of enormous pumpkins ... And, perhaps my favourite of all, the moment one of the neighbours down the road announces on Facebook that her quinces are ready.

There is something wonderfully exciting about that little message appearing. The quinces are ready ... And I'm off!

Yesterday, however, I was in the kitchen, minding my own business, drinking my coffee and admiring my freshly acquired quinces, which were about to be transformed into a Sherry, Chorizo & Quince Terrine. When suddenly … A gert fat-arsed spider flew out of the bag at speed and came at me with intent in all eight of its eyes ... And let me tell you, that's a lot of intent. I mean, I've not done the calculations or anything, but trust me… it's a lot.

I know it was coming for me because, as I was hopping around from foot to foot exclaiming “Whoooo! Whoooo!” whilst trying to avoid it, and simultaneously thinking is that noise actually coming from me?, the bloody thing was switching direction with me. I'm telling you, it was so big that, as it drew horrifyingly closer, I could make out the tattoos on its legs. H-A-T-E on one side, and L-O-V-E on the other.

Now, I operate a very firm live-and-let-live policy in this house, and that counts for spiders. We have a kind of you leave me alone and I'll leave you alone arrangement. And I loudly explained this to the spider as I made a rapid exit from the kitchen. On my return however … The fat-arsed spider had disappeared. Dun. Dun. Dunnnnnn…

Oh, the horror. Because now I don't know where the bloody thing is. And, more importantly, whether this beastie actually had beef with me or whether it was simply late for a date and was looking for directions. So, rather on edge for the rest of the day, I bravely stayed in the kitchen to make my terrine. Because I had quinces. And quinces wait for no woman ... Well they will, but by excitement of having them slightly outweighed my fear.

Taking the terrine in a slightly Spanish direction

I wanted something rich and savoury, but with enough brightness to stop all that porky richness becoming too heavy. So I took the terrine in a slightly Spanish direction.

We're starting with rich, fatty pork shoulder and pork belly, then adding the smoky, paprika warmth of chorizo style sausage. A couple of tablespoons of sherry bring that deep, slightly nutty sweetness that works beautifully with pork, while fresh sage adds an earthy herbal note.

Then there are the pistachios, giving little flashes of green and a lovely bit of texture through the terrine. And then comes the quince. Or, more accurately, quince cheese.

And this is where I confess to being a big fat cheat. I didn't attempt to make some clever quince glaze especially for the terrine. I made a proper batch of quince cheese separately and then, once it had cooled and set, simply sliced a slab through the middle and laid it over the cold terrine.

Honestly? I think it's brilliant. The quince cheese is intensely fruity, sweet and slightly tart, with that wonderful deep amber-red colour that quince develops as it cooks. And that concentrated sweetness does exactly what I wanted it to do. It cuts through all that richness.

The fatty pork, smoky paprika, sherry and pistachios are deep and savoury, while the quince brings a sweet, sharp fruitiness that wakes the whole thing up. It's a rather lovely combination and it looks pretty spectacular too.

Sherry, Chorizo & Quince Terrine - The Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes

Cooking: 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes

Chilling: Overnight

Makes: 1 x 1.2 litre terrine

Ingredients

For the terrine

• 500g minced pork shoulder, not too lean

• 400g pork belly, finely chopped

• 400g chorizo-style sausages, meat removed from the casings

• 1 small onion, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large egg

• 2 tbsp sherry

• 1 generous handful pistachios

• 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 2 large pinches of sea salt

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For the quince cheese

• 1.5kg quinces

• Caster sugar, equal in weight to the cooked quince purée

• Water, enough to cover the quinces

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Making the quince cheese

I make the quince cheese separately, which means you can prepare it well ahead of the terrine.

I leave the skins on because they're naturally rich in pectin, which helps the quince cheese set.

Core the quinces and roughly chop them, leaving the skins on.

Place them in a heavy-based saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for approximately 50 minutes, until completely soft and beginning to turn orangey-pink.

Drain well. Blend the cooked quinces to a smooth purée. Now weigh the purée and add the same weight of caster sugar.

Return the purée and sugar to the saucepan and gently simmer over a low heat for 1½–2 hours, stirring regularly, until it has become very thick and heavy and has turned a deep amber-red. Be careful, quince cheese becomes extremely hot and can spit as it cooks.

Pour into a shallow foil tray and allow to cool completely. Once set, refrigerate overnight.

The following day, you should have a firm slab of quince cheese.

Making the terrine

1. Preheat and line

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).

Line a 1.2-litre loaf tin or terrine mould with greaseproof paper, overlapping the paper and leaving the ends hanging over the sides.

2. Mix the meats

Place the minced pork shoulder, finely chopped pork belly and chorizo-style sausage meat into a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the flavourings

Add the diced onion, minced garlic, egg, sherry, pistachios, salt, pepper and chopped sage.

Mix thoroughly with your hands or a wooden spoon until everything is well combined and the mixture feels sticky.

4. Fill the tin

Pack the meat mixture firmly into the lined tin, pressing down as you go to eliminate any air pockets.

Fold the overhanging greaseproof paper over the top to enclose the filling. Cover the tin tightly with a layer of greased foil.

5. Bake in a bain-marie

Place the terrine inside a deep roasting tray.

Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting tray until it reaches approximately halfway up the sides of the terrine mould.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the centre reaches at least 70°C on a meat thermometer.

If you'd like a little colour on the top, remove the foil for the final 15 minutes of cooking.

6. Cool and chill

Remove the terrine from the water bath and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, refrigerate overnight.

This is important. The terrine needs time to firm up properly before you attempt to slice it.

Adding the quince

Once the terrine is completely cold, remove it from the mould.

Take your chilled slab of quince cheese and carefully slice it horizontally through the middle, creating a layer roughly the same size as the top of the terrine.

Lay the quince cheese over the top of the cold terrine. And there you have it.

A rather magnificent slab of pork, chorizo and pistachio terrine, crowned with a layer of deep amber quince cheese.

Serving the Sherry, Chorizo & Quince Terrine

This is rich stuff, so I like to keep the accompaniments simple.

Good crusty bread, something sharp and pickled, perhaps a few cornichons or a little chutney.

The quince cheese is already bringing sweetness and acidity to the party, so you don't need to overwhelm it.

Slice the terrine generously and let that beautiful quince layer do its thing.

Jo's Kitchen Notes

Don't use lean pork. This is a terrine and fat is your friend. The pork shoulder, belly and chorizo-style sausage are what give this its rich, soft and luxurious texture.

The sherry is worth keeping. Two tablespoons might not sound like much, but it brings a lovely depth and subtle nuttiness to the pork.

Leave the quince skins on. They're naturally high in pectin and help the quince cheese set.

Don't rush the quince cheese. That long, gentle reduction is what transforms the pale quince purée into that beautiful deep amber-red paste with an intensely concentrated flavour.

Make the terrine the day before. A terrine is not a dish to rush. Give it a good overnight chill and you'll get much cleaner slices and a lovely firm texture.

And don't underestimate the quince. It may be sitting prettily on top, but it is doing a serious job. That sweet, sharp fruitiness cuts straight through the richness of the pork and chorizo.

And finally…

Check the quince bag for spiders. I cannot stress this enough!!

A final word from my kitchen

There is something rather magical about quince season.

The fruit arrives hard, knobbly and slightly mysterious, and yet with a little patience it transforms into something fragrant, golden and beautiful.

Perhaps that's why I love it. That, and the fact that someone else grows it and then kindly puts a message on Facebook telling me it's ready.

The spiders, however, can stay wherever they bloody came from. The quince can come in.

The spider can stay out.