Description
This recipe, “Pâté de Pâques berrichon,” is a traditional French Easter pâté from the Berry region. It’s a savory meat pie, typically made with a mixture of ground pork (and sometimes veal), hard-boiled eggs, and seasonings, all encased in a flaky puff pastry
Ingredients
- 1 pâte feuilletée (puff pastry sheet – about 14–16 oz)
- 4 oeufs (4 large eggs)
- 750 g de viande de porc haché (about 1.65 lbs ground pork)
- Option: 250 g de viande de veau hachée (about 0.55 lbs ground veal) and 500 g de porc haché (about 1.1 lbs ground pork)
- 1 oignon (1 medium onion)
- 1 gousse d’ail (1 clove garlic)
- 2 tranches de pain de mie (2 slices of white bread)
- ½ cuillère à café de noix de muscade (½ teaspoon ground nutmeg)
- ½ bouquet de persil (about ½ cup chopped fresh parsley)
- Sel (salt)
- Poivre (pepper)
- Egg Yolk
Instructions
Let’s walk through the process:
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Hard-Boil Eggs: Place 3 eggs in a large saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes to achieve hard-boiled eggs. Let the eggs cool completely, then peel them (remove the shells).
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Prepare Onion and Garlic: Peel the garlic and onion. Finely chop or mince them using a knife, food processor, or blender.
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Prepare Bread: Soak the bread slices in a little cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and puree the bread using a fork or your hands.
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Combine Filling Ingredients: Beat the remaining egg (1) with a fork. In a large bowl, combine the beaten egg, pureed bread, chopped onion and garlic, chopped parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
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Add Meat: Add the ground pork (or the pork and veal mixture) to the bowl with the other filling ingredients. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a large spoon until all the ingredients are well combined.
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Prepare Pastry: Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to form a rectangle large enough to line the loaf pan and have some overhang.
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Assemble Pâté: Line the loaf pan with the rolled-out puff pastry. Place a layer of the meat filling in the bottom of the pan.
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Add Eggs: Place the 3 hard-boiled eggs on top of the meat layer, spacing them evenly along the length of the pan.
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Cover with Remaining Meat: Cover the eggs with the remaining meat filling, pressing it gently around the eggs.
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Enclose in Pastry: Fold the overhanging puff pastry over the top of the meat filling to enclose it completely. Seal the edges by pressing them together.
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Egg Wash (Optional): If desired, brush the top of the pastry with a little bit of beaten egg yolk for a golden-brown finish.
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Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 302°F (150°C) and bake for another 30 minutes.
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Check for Browning: If the pâté is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.
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Cool and Serve: Let the pâté cool completely before slicing and serving. This allows the filling to set and the flavors to meld.
