This colorful Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine makes a great meal on a hot day. It features roasted zucchini, red and yellow peppers and eggplant layered with basil, parmesan and garlic flavored cream cheese and provolone. It is a mid-summer showstopper as a flavorsome starter to a dinner of grilled fish or celebratory lunch.
I have been attracted to terrines since I first heard the word terrine on Julia Child’s The French Chef segment on “Terrines and Pâtés.” I was new to French culinary terminology then, and the word implied a certain sophistication that I, as a teenager interested in food and entertaining, was eager to achieve. Seeing photos of multi-layered terrines, both meat-filled and meatless, in food magazines over the years always captured my attention.
Terrines are traditionally a French meatloaf or pâté formed in a mold (sometimes baked) and then inverted before serving. The word terrine is the name of the finished dish and the dish it is made in. This Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine is molded in a loaf pan as classic French terrines usually are, but it does not contain meat nor is it baked.
I make meat terrines occasionally, but I find them too rich to eat in summer. So, I applied the flavoring principles of a meat terrine to this vegetable terrine. As Julia Child said during her “Terrine and Pates” segment, chilling dulls the flavor of cold food, so it is important to compensate by increasing seasoning. For meat terrines, Julia Child suggests frying and chilling a bit of uncooked filling and then adjusting seasoning as needed. Since this Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine is pressed into shape, not cooked, I had to create a distinctive taste and texture in each layer through the careful use of herbs and seasoning.
I seasoned each element of this terrine separately, tasting as I went along. In creating the basil cream cheese, I added garlic, parmesan, salt and oregano bit by bit to achieve the rich basil-garlic flavor that would play a distinctive role in this terrine. The resulting basil cream cheese can stand on its own. The olive oil-lemon mixture brushed on the vegetables before roasting adds a welcome tartness to the terrine. The aspic used as a stabilizer of the basil cream cheese mixture, and as a glue between layers of this terrine, deepens the salty flavor. A decided advantage of this terrine is that some of its components can be made over several days with final assembly the day before serving.
Although I wanted this terrine to have a dominant Italian flavor and selected ingredients accordingly, cooked mushrooms, carrots, leeks, beets, asparagus, peas can also be incorporated into a vegetarian terrine. Almost any vegetable will work in a terrine. The basil in the cream cheese filling can be swapped out with sun-dried tomato paste or the cream cheese can be substituted altogether with a tangy goat cheese or with a spinach or tomato mousse.
This Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine is easy to make but requires time for assembly. The key to a successfully finished dish is letting each terrine layer set before proceeding to the next layer. Before you start to assemble this terrine, dry and chill all vegetables. The basil cream cheese and the broth should be at room temperature consistency. You need to work fast layering and chilling each layer before proceeding to the next, returning unused vegetables to the refrigerator between layers but keeping the basil cream cheese and broth at room temperature.
The roasted vegetables with their slight smoky taste layered with the smooth texture of the basil cream cheese and a touch of flavorful aspic result in a light vegetable terrine which is satisfying to taste and eye. This Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine is best cut and served when chilled, accompanied by a salad and toasted French bread, paired with a light crisp red or white wine.
Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine
3 medium zucchini, long and thin if possible
4 red and yellow bell peppers
3 Japanese or Chinese eggplant (about 1 pound), long and thin if possible
12 ounces (340 g) cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons parmesan, grated
3 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon oregano, fresh minced
pinch, cayenne
1¼ teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
1 cup (250 ml) chicken bone broth
1¼ teaspoons Kosher salt *
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
6 ounces (170 g) provolone, thinly sliced
4 ounces (122 g) fresh basil leaves
½ cup (120 ml) olive oil to brush vegetables
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Garnish: leftover basil leaves and roasted red pepper
Preparing peppers — stovetop method: Turn on the exhaust fan over the stove to high. Place peppers directly on the gas burner turned to high. In a few seconds, the peppers will blister, pop and smoke. With tongs, rotate peppers over the flame until all sides are charred. Once charred all over, transfer peppers from stove to a heat-proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. When peppers are cool enough to handle (about 20 minutes), remove from bowl to a cutting board, cut off the stem, quarter and scrape out seeds and membranes and peel off skin. Rinse under running water to remove remaining skin and seeds. Dry on paper towels and set aside until ready to assemble terrine. Peppers can be prepared a day before assemblying terrine.
Preparing peppers – broiler method: Position a rack 4″ (10 cm) from broiler, and heat to high. Place both peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet, and broil, turning as needed, until charred all over, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let sit for 20 minutes. Peel, core, and seed peppers; set aside. Peppers can be prepared a day before assembling terrine.
Preparing zucchini and eggplant: Heat oven to 450°F (230°C). Brush two rimmed baking sheets with oil. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice zucchini and eggplant into ¼ inch (0.64 cm) lengthwise slices. Combine olive oil, lemon juice with ½ teaspoon salt.
Place eggplant and zucchini slices on separate baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant and zucchini with olive oil-lemon juice mixture and roast for 35-40 minutes turning as needed until tender and pliable, but not mushy. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Dry slices on paper towels and set aside until ready to assemble terrine.
Preparing basil cream cheese: Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup (70 ml) of the chicken broth in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm remaining ¾ cup (180 ml) broth and remaining ½ teaspoon salt to a simmer. Pour hot broth over gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
Place parmesan in a food processor bowl with a blade attachment. Pulse the processor several times to chop parmesan into finer particles. Add garlic cloves and pulse until garlic is no longer visible. While the processor is running, add cream cheese, basil (reserve some for garnish) and oregano, cayenne, ½ cup cooled broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ pepper and purée until smooth. If the cream cheese seems dry, add additional broth 1 tablespoon at a time; the mixture should be soft but not soggy. Taste and adjust seasoning. This basil cream cheese can be prepared up to 2 days ahead but should be brought to room temperature before assembling terrine.
Assembling terrine: Line a 9″x 5″x 3” (23 cm x13 cm x 8 cm) loaf pan with plastic wrap, letting at least 4″ (10 cm) hang over the edges. Line the bottom and sides of the loaf pan with zucchini slices. (If zucchini slices are long, drape over sides and bottom. Otherwise, you will have to piece down the middle of bottom as I did.) Brush a light coat of broth on zucchini.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Evenly spread ¼ of the basil cream on the zucchini, covering the entire bottom. Top with thin slices of provolone, again covering bottom entirely. Brush provolone with broth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Cover with slices of red pepper and then repeat with ¼ of basil cream, followed by provolone and broth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
Place eggplant slices, repeat with ¼ of the basil cream, followed by provolone and broth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Finally, place yellow pepper slices, repeat with remaining ¼ of the basil cream, followed by provolone and broth. Fold zucchini slices over filling and tap pan on the counter to remove air pockets.
Fold excess plastic over terrine, and cover with a piece of cardboard cut to fit inside the rim of the pan. Place a weight such as several cans of beans on top to weigh down terrine and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator. Unwrap plastic wrap from the top of the terrine. Invert serving platter and hold tightly against the terrine; flip centering the terrine on the platter. Remove loaf pan. Once terrine is out, gently peel off plastic wrap and garnish with basil and red pepper. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Gently slice terrine with a long, sharp, thin serrated knife into ¾” (1.9 cm)-thick slices: using a gentle sawing motion but little pressure with one hand tightly supporting the sides to keep them together.
Transfer slices to chilled serving plates.
Serve with salad and grilled olive oil-brushed French baguette slices.
Serves 8-10
* This measurement is for Morton’s Kosher Salt, which is denser with bigger crystals. As a result, it is less salty than fine table salt. If using fine table salt, proceed with caution as it may make terrine too salty. Please start with half the amount and adjust to taste.
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