Re-opening: The pâté-croûte of Bistroch

And we’re off! Finally… During lock-down we made pâtés and terrines for take-away. So as a result... I decided to continue to make them... so customers can buy them as take-aways. and to have home-made cold cuts to go with cocktails over the weekend, because the restaurant is only open weekdays for now. So we put together a tray of home-made cold cuts... with some salad, things like that… And we re-opened the restaurant... the other days of the week. To begin with I started with a set menu, I’m not sure for exactly how long, but for now that’s what we’re offering, we’ll see how things pickup or not… Later we’ll stay with a set menu... but in that case, with two choices, two starters, two main dishes, and two desserts, that way people who want to eat here twice will have a choice... and have the possibility for a change. This also leaves me time to continue making pâtés, marbled ham, terrines… They are “home-made”, which I had no time to do before... and I enjoy making them. This one has... it has pork ribs from Clavisy Farm, a farm in the Yonne, there are cep mushrooms... that's it, then I season it with spring onions... salt, pepper and white wine. A dash of Armagnac… Only what’s needed! It’s important to seal the cover otherwise... during cooking it won't remain sealed... so when you pour in the aspic it’ll leak, and that's not... then it's a hassle… and it’s a lot of fun making these kinds of things... I change recipes, last time I made pistachio pork, I made one with duck and foie gras… olives, tomato confit, a bit more Provençal, but it’s enjoyable… Everything is “home-made”, from A to Z, The crust, the stuffing, the meat which we prepare... and we make the aspic as well. Here given that it is a pork pâté, I will set aside the stock ... made from the drippings of my marbled ham. that way we’ll have an aspic with the taste of the ham… that way as soon as it’s cooked, I can pour the hot aspic directly into the pâté. Several times... because it takes at least two days, to finish preparing it, and for the gelatin to set. This? It’s so the air can escape. It stops the fat inside from boiling over and dripping out while cooking. as the fat cooks and rises inside. This way as the fat stays around the pâté inside the crust... it doesn't drip out, if it did it wouldn't look as nice. In the oven at 225 °C for 20 minutes... and then we'll put it back in for 30 minutes at 180°C.