Nut and Vegetable Terrine

The cashews and celery combine to give this colorful dish a wonderful nutty texture.

Vegetarian; can be made vegan. Hands-on time: 10 mins. Total time: 1 hour.

Contributed by Janey Macleod (October 2004).

A terrine is an earthenware dish that can be used for both cooking and serving, but, as with 'casserole', the word has come to be used for the contents as well as the container.

But you won't need a special container to make this particular recipe - any suitable oven-proof dish will do. It is straightforward to prepare, but is sure to impress your dinner guests. The quantities given here make three to four portions. Feel free to omit the cheese if you prefer a vegan version.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• ¾ cups (3 oz, 75 g) chopped cashews
• ½ cup (3.5 oz, 100 g) ground almonds
• 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup (2 oz, 50 g) grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup (3 oz, 75 g) breadcrumbs
• One 14-oz (400 g) can of tomatoes
• Fresh or dried basil or thyme to taste
• ¼ tsp. soy sauce

Method

Oven: Pre-heat to 350F (180C)

Gently fry the onions in about half the oil. After a few minutes, add the celery. When this has softened, add the cashews, ground almonds and mushrooms. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, mix the cheese and breadcrumbs and the remaining oil.

Liquidize the tomatoes in a blender or mash them with a fork. Add the herbs and soy sauce.

Oil a terrine or other oven-proof dish. Cover the base with about half of the cheese and breadcrumb mixture, pressing down firmly. Spread the onion mixture over the base, then add the tomatoes. Top it off with another layer of the cheese and breadcrumbs.

Cover the dish and bake for about 50 minutes. Remove the cover towards the end of the cooking period so that the top is browned.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.