1 lb Venison (trimmed weight)
1/2 lb Belly of pork (trimmed wt.)
1/2 lb Chicken livers
1 sm Orange
1 Lemon
2 Garlic cloves
1 1/2 ts Fresh thyme (more to taste)
Whole and ground bay leaves 1 tb Red wine vinegar
1 tb Olive oil
1/4 pt Red wine
1 ts Gelatine powder
A few kumquats to decorate Mince all three meats fairly finely and put them into a bowl. Add the zest of the orange and lemon, the crushed garlic, the thyme, olive oil, vinegar, a generous pinch of powdered bay and plenty of black pepper. Mix thoroughly and stir in the wine. Cover and leave to marinate overnight. Season with salt – I find 1 teaspoon about right but fry a small nugget of the mixture to check. Turn the pate into a terrine of about 2 1/4 pint capacity. Pack the mixture well down into the corners of the dish and use a spoon to hollow out slightly the centre top. Cover with greaseproof paper and foil, stand the dish in a roasting pan containing enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake at 325 F (160 C) gas mark 3 for 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours. Using a bulb baster, remove and reserve most of the juices that surround the pate. Replace the greaseproof paper and foil, press the pate lightly with 1-1/2 to 2 lb weights and cool for 1-1/2 hours. Then drain off any remaining juices that have not been re-absorbed by the pate. Mix all the venison juices that you have collected with the juice of the orange and measure. Add a splash of water if necessary to make 1/2 pint in total. Dissolve the gelatine powder in the mixture and use it to glaze the pate, adding a few bay leaves and kumquats to decorate if liked. Source: Philippa Davenport in “Country Living” (British), November 1988. Typed for you by Karen Mintzias