Chilled Savory Smoked Salmon and Cheese Terrine

When I saw a "Frozen Treats" contest I thought to myself, not my kind of subject matter. I'm not much for the sweet end of the flavor profile. I also hate brain freeze. After seeing that "chilled" was also an option, I was slightly more intrigued. A chilled treat, doesn't always have to be a sweet desert. I began thinking that I could have something to offer. Smoked salmon is nice cold, cheese is also a nice cold treat. Add a few other items to make it a more interesting flavor, shape it nicely and I could have something here. I submit to you my take on a chilled treat. The Smoked Salmon and Cheese Terrine

The chosen form for this project is a 6" x 3" spring form pan.

You will need plastic wrap and enough towels to fill the pan's ring.

To allow the ingredients to release from the pan you will need to line it. I chose cling wrap rather than waxed paper, I'm sure either would do the trick. Firstly lay a piece over the bottom of the form. Secondly roll the towels into a cling wrap roll large enough to fill the ring. The third step is to pull the wrap over both the top and bottom of the ring and snap it onto the bottom. Now slide the towels out of the ring and snug the plastic by pushing down around the outside edges. There you have a nice base to create from.

The ingredients I've decided on are as follows:

A large package of smoked salmon 300g

Two 227g packages of Philadelphia herb and garlic cream cheese spread

One 750g goats cheese, to sound more chef like, call it chevre

One small jar of marinated artichoke hearts 370ml

One small jar of roasted red peppers 340ml

One package of sun dried tomatoes in oil 200ml

You won't use all the artichokes, peppers or tomatoes so, If you see smaller jars choose them.

This totaled $35.32, not including the mix of fancy crackers.

The goat cheese is rather crumbly. Break it down finely with a fork before adding the cream cheese. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Line the form with the salmon. Overlap the edges so you won't see cheese peeking through once it's done.

Drain artichokes through a sieve and save the liquid. You'll want it for the unused artichokes. Chop half the jar to start, you may want to add more, so leave the rest on the cutting board for now.

Add half the cheese mixture, go slow so you don't mess up the salmon. Add just a bit at a time, gently press it into place. Try not to leave air pockets. Once you have the layer smoothed out, cover it with the chopped artichokes.

Squeeze out half the container of sun dried tomatoes with paper towels, you don't want all that oil in the mix. Chop them into small pieces so no one ends up choking. Add enough to cover the artichokes well.

Did someone say more? Yes. It's not like we don't have enough salmon and cheese already, but we do need more. When you cover the artichokes and sun dried tomatoes with salmon, use some of the salmon to fill any spaces around the top of the mold. Now add the rest of the cheese and smooth it out evenly.

Were in the home stretch now. The last layer is roasted red peppers. Blot them with paper towels to remove excess moisture then cut into bite size pieces. Fold in the salmon that was left hanging over the sides. Now cover it with the peppers My jar had huge peppers, it only took one to cover the bottom completely.

Now pull up the extra cling film and cover the pepper layer. All that's left to do is chill. Put this in the fridge and go chill with your guests. 15min before you want to serve move it to the freezer. This will firm it up a bit to aid in unwrapping.

Take the form from the freezer. Undo the spring form latch. Peel the plastic carefully from the pepper layer. Now slowly lift the spring form ring upwards. The plastic wrap is still pulled over the bottom edge of the form so it will pull off the salmon as you lift, leaving a gorgeous smooth finish. Now lightly hold your cutting board on top and flip the entire business over. Nothing left to do but lift off the form's bottom plate and peel the last bit of plastic wrap.

I suggest not using the knife pictured. The holes pulled bits of the artichoke/tomato layer out as I cut the first piece. It was also impossible to spread with it. This will serve 15 to 20 people, A large mix of crackers and breads could make it go even farther.

Enjoy!

Please comment with any questions or suggestions you may have.