Tomato & Goat Terrine

With Greg Reppucci

This terrine recipe uses only four main ingredients but makes for a great tasting side dish. The goat cheese, olives and tomatoes compliment each other perfectly. Greg Reppucci first had this version of the dish at a friend’s house in Paris and liked it so much he had to get the recipe. After having it translated he has been making it for years. It is often made with homegrown tomatoes but if you find good tomatoes in your market it is an excellent way to capture some summer-like tastes during the long winter months. The term terrine is used rather loosely compared to some, but like traditional terrines it is made in a terrine type pot and can also be served at room temperature.

Ingredients

3 to 4 large fresh, ripe tomatoes
1 cup of Kalamata or other cured olives, split in half
1 cup fresh goat cheese
3 to 4 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs (Italian seasoning preferred)
3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs of basil, or 1 tablespoon dry
2 cloves garlic, freshly minced
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and slice tomatoes to ¼ inch thickness.
2. Place the tomatoes on the bottom of an oven proof, 2-quart dish with a lid (if you do not have a lid you can cover with aluminum foil). Cut some tomato slices in whatever shape is needed to cover the entire bottom of the dish.
3. Drizzle the top of the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
4. Spread 1/3 of the olives over the tomatoes.
5. Using a knife and a spoon, spread 1/3 of the goat cheese in small dabs (1/2 teaspoon size) over the tomato and olives.
6. Place two large leaves of basil and evenly spread 1/3 of the garlic over the mixture.
7. Sprinkle one tablespoon of seasoned breadcrumbs over mixture.
8. Repeat until three or four layers are in place (depending on size of dish) and bake for one hour. Can be served warm or room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Gregory Reppucci, 2009.

Greg is head of the Food Science Department at North Shore Community College and has been judging the Canning at the Topsfield Fair for over twenty years. He ran a Community Canning Center at Essex Aggie from 1980 to 1990 and under his direction processed over 100,000 mason jars of home canned fruits and vegetables for people in the community. He is an advisor to The Food Project in Lynn/ Beverly and allows some of his entry level Food Science students to get service learning credit for volunteering with The Food Project each Fall. Greg is also a proponent of sustainable local agriculture and support local agriculture on the north shore. His hobbies include Cooking, Wine, Travel, Nature and Sustainability. Greg has been teaching Food Science since 1978, first at Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute and currently at North Shore Community college. Greg has an Associates Degree from U. Mass Amherst in Food Processing; a Bachelors degree from Framingham State College in Food Science, 1977, and a Masters degree in Biotechnology and Biomedical Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is a member of The Institute of Food Technologists since 1979 and The American Society for Microbiology since 1984.