A Pâté for Bastille Day

Happy Bastille Day! And what better a way to celebrate than with friends, having a picnic, drinking wine, sharing food, etc... But what to bring to this picnic? I say pâté. It may have a laundry list of ingredients, but it's simple to make and great for picnics. Happy Bastille Day!

Pâté:

1kg Ground pork (not lean), divided

75g Onions, diced

4 Cloves of garlic, chopped

2 Eggs

125ml Cream

21g Salt

4g Pepper, freshly ground

2T Flour

1/4t Nutmeg, ground

1 Pinch of Cinnamon, ground

1 Pinch of Cayenne or Piment d'Espelette

150g Cooked ham, 1/4" dice

30ml Armagnac or Cognac

4T Dried Parsley

Preheat your oven to 300F or about 150C

In a large bowl, place 250g of the ground pork in with the onions, garlic, eggs, cream, salt, pepper, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne, and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and using your hands, mix everything well to combine.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap that overhangs on the sides. Place the pâté mixture into the loaf pan trying to avoid any air pockets. Once filled, tap the pan on the work surface to try to press the mixture into the pan and force out any air. Fold the plastic wrap up to cover the top of the pâté.

Place the loaf pan into a larger pan to make a bain marie and add boiling water to about half the height of the loaf pan. Place into the oven and cook until the pâté reaches 160F, or about 71C. 1 to 1.25 hours depending on the oven.

Once up to temp, remove the pâté from the oven and place a plate on top, along with other weights to press the pâté. After 20 minutes, place with pâté, along with the weights into the fridge to cool completely.

Remove the pâté from the mold and remove the plastic. Slice and serve with mustard, cornichons, and lots of good bread and wine. Bonne Fête!!!