A baked fish terrine: layers of salmon fillet and a whiting, crème fraîche and egg-white mousseline, cooked in a water bath, pressed lightly and chilled overnight. Served with a mustard mayonnaise lightened with whipped egg white.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Pâtés and Terrines section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1½ pounds skinless boneless whiting fillets, coarsely ground in a food processor
- 1½ cups crème fraîche
- 3 egg whites plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper, as needed to season
- 2–3 skinless boneless salmon fillets, ½ inch thick (1¼ pounds in all)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped chives
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350 °F. Butter two strips of parchment, 4 × 16 inches and 5 × 9 inches. Line a 5 × 9 × 3-inch loaf pan with the long strip, letting the ends drape over the sides.
- Stir together the whiting, crème fraîche, 2 of the egg whites, and salt and pepper.
- Line the bottom of the pan with half the salmon, cut to fit without overlapping. Season, and spread half the whiting mixture over it. Repeat with the rest of the salmon and whiting, for 4 layers in all.
- Cover with the second strip of parchment, then foil. Set the pan in a deep roasting pan and pour in boiling water to come halfway up its sides.
- Bake until just cooked through, 35–40 minutes (the source says 120 °F in the center; see the Notes).
- Cool 30 minutes. Press gently along the top with a small weight, such as an unopened can, and drain off the liquid (about ½ cup). Refrigerate overnight.
- For the sauce, whisk the yolk and mustard, then drizzle in the oil to make a thick mayonnaise, and stir in the lemon juice. Whisk the remaining egg white to stiff peaks and fold it in. Season.
- Loosen the terrine’s edges, turn it out onto a platter, sprinkle with the herbs, and slice. Serve with the sauce.
Notes
Source Adapted from “Salmon and Whiting Terrine,” Saveur. The source says to lay the salmon “skin side up” although its ingredient list calls for skinless fillets; laid here without skin.
Food safety — two points the source does not make Its 120 °F (49 °C) center leaves the salmon silky but leaves the whiting and egg-white farce well under the FDA’s 145 °F (63 °C) for fish. Baking to 145 °F makes a firmer terrine and a safe one. The sauce uses a raw yolk and a raw white; pasteurized eggs remove that risk.
A mousseline The whiting, cream and egg white are a fish mousseline forcemeat — Escoffier’s “fine forcemeat”, which he said could replace any other and none could replace.
The Pâtés and Terrines section’s Fish and Vegetable Terrines page (/pates-and-terrines/fish-and-vegetable/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.
The photo The photograph is a stand-in: a salmon terrine with basil, not this salmon-and-whiting layering.