Ham Hock and Wild Mushroom Terrine with Marmalade

Ingredients

• 4-6 ham hocks
• leek
• star anise
• onion
• clives
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 clvoe garlic
• shallots
• 200 g wild mushrooms
• 1 pinch chopped thyme
• 50 g butter
• 1 drizzle olive oil
• 2 sheets gelatin
• seasoning
• for the marmalade dressing:
• 6 tblsp good olive oil
• 3 tblsp marmalade
• 3 tblsp red wine vinegar

Method

• The first step to making the terrine is to cook the ham hocks. Place the hocks into a large pot along with the roughly chopped leeks, onions, garlic, thyme and the cloves and star anise.
• Cover the hocks in cold water and place a lid on before placing the pot over a moderate heat. Bring the water to a simmer for about an hour-and-a-half, or until the hocks become very soft and are beginning to fall apart.
• While the hocks are cooking you can prepare everything else for the terrine. Begin by lining the terrine mould with a double layer of cling film; this will give it strength when you try to remove the terrine from the mould.
• Place a pan over a high heat. Once hot add the olive oil and the roughly chopped mushrooms. Toss the pan over the heat for 30 seconds or so before adding the finely diced shallots. Now add in the butter and thyme along with a little seasoning.
• Cooking the mushrooms shouldn't take more than 2 minutes in total; you don't want to overcook them. Once cooked, pour the mushrooms out of the pan on to a plate to cool until later. Soak the gelatin in some cold water for 10 minutes and set to one side.
• When the hocks have cooked, strain the liquid off retaining about 400ml of it to one side. Allow the hocks to cool for a few minutes but as soon as you can handle them begin removing the meat from the bone, discarding the fat and bone.
• Break the hock meat roughly into a bowl. Add to this the mushroom mix. Heat the reserved stock over a low heat and add the gelatin to this, ensuring it is all dissolved. Add the gelatin mix to the hock meat. Use a large spoon or your clean hands to mix this together well.
• Now fill your terrine mould with the hock meat. Ensure that you overfill the mould to allow for the pressing process. Once it is full wrap cling film around the mould over the top of the meat tightly to ensure that it is pressed into the mould and doesn't escape over the sides.
• Now place the terrine onto a tray with another tray on top. Lace this into the fridge with a heavy weight on top, maybe a carton of milk or two. Allow the terrine to press overnight.
• For the Dressing:
• Place the marmalade into a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds or until it becomes soft. Now whisk in the olive oil and vinegar. Allow this to sit in the fridge overnight.
• To Serve:
• Remove the terrine from the mould and place on a chopping board. Use a sharp carving knife to cut a ¼-inch slice from the terrine.
• Place a slice of the terrine to one side of the place and drizzle a little of the dressing around. It would be nice to serve this with some warm melba toast or granary bread.

Notes

The wild mushrooms could be replaced with just plain button mushrooms. If you can't find star anise add a dash of Pernod. The terrine can be served warm too, just fry it gently on a pan. The terrine would be a great fancy breakfast item served with a poached egg. If you don't have a terrine mould, the mix could be rolled tightly in cling film.