Pâte de Veau à la Valdôtaine — Veal Terrine with Fontina and Ham

Ingredients

• For the terrine
• 600 g veal escalope, sliced thin, seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme
• 200 g Fontina d'Aosta DOP, cut into strips
• 150 g Jambon de Bosses DOP, sliced thin
• 150 g Lard d'Arnad, sliced thin, for lining and topping
• 60 ml dry white wine, splashed over seasoned veal
• For the aspic
• 400 ml meat broth, well-reduced and clear
• 8 g gelatine leaves, dissolved in hot broth
• To serve
• grain mustard
• gherkins
• Valdostano rye bread, sliced

Method

1. 1
   Heat the oven to 160 °C. Line the base and sides of a terrine mould completely with thin-sliced Lard d'Arnad, allowing the slices to overhang the rim. The lining must be unbroken — no gaps through which the filling can escape.
2. 2
   Season the veal escalopes with salt, pepper, and thyme; splash with the white wine. Dissolve the gelatine leaves in the hot meat broth and allow to cool until syrupy but still pourable.
3. 3
   Lay a first layer of seasoned veal escalopes across the base of the lined mould. Arrange strips of Fontina d'Aosta evenly over the veal, then lay slices of Jambon de Bosses over the Fontina. Spoon a small amount of the cooled aspic over the layer. Repeat the sequence — veal, Fontina, ham, aspic — until the mould is filled, finishing with a layer of veal. This is where the terrine lives or dies: each layer of aspic must be applied with sufficient gelatine to bind the structure; a weak or absent aspic produces a preparation that crumbles on slicing and cannot hold its form.
4. 4
   Fold the overhanging Lard d'Arnad over the top of the filling; lay additional slices across any uncovered surface to close the terrine completely. Cover tightly with foil. Set the terrine inside a deep roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the mould.
5. 5
   Bake at 160 °C for 1 hour. The terrine is done when the internal filling feels firm and resistant under light finger pressure through the foil, and the surrounding bain-marie water is at a steady, barely trembling simmer.
6. 6
   Remove from the oven. Take off the foil and place a second terrine mould or a board cut to fit directly on top of the filling. Weight it down. Allow to cool to room temperature, then transfer — still weighted — to the refrigerator. Leave overnight. The weight is what creates the compressed, clean-slicing texture; do not skip this stage.
7. 7
   Unmould onto a board. Slice thin with a sharp knife. Each slice should hold together cleanly, showing distinct layers of pale veal, golden Fontina, and rose-pink ham within the herbal Lard wrapper.