Terrine de Foie Gras au Compôte de Figues

Ingredients for the terrine:

• 600-800 grams (1½ pounds) of fresh duck liver (foie gras frais)
• coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper
• small standard terrine dishes; for this amount of liver, Frank uses two dishes that measure 13x9cm and are 6 cm high (5 x 3½ x 2½ inch)

Ingredients for the Compôte de Figues:

• 150 grams (5 oz.) dried figs (do not use figs that were dried in biblical times; they still need to be soft and somewhat moist)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of orange blossom honey
• 1 or 2 shots of cognac or armagnac (do (not) worry, the alcohol will entirely evaporate in the process)
• tiny (!) pinch of salt

Instructions for the fig compôte:

• remove the stems from the figs
• dice the figs (about 1/4 max)
• put all compote ingredients in a sauce pan
• add water such that the ingredients are well covered
• bring to slow simmer, while stirring regularly
• may take at least 45 minutes; if necessary, add some water
• when reduced to a very thick consistency and fig skins are soft, remove from heat, and cool to
  room temperature. When cold, it should be hard to "cut" with a spoon. So, don't even try and
  use fig jam or store bought fig compote: your terrine will be a disaster!
• can be made well ahead, and can be kept for other dishes (such as foie gras mi-cuit aux figues
  or Duck Wellington)

Instructions for the terrine:

• prepare the liver; see further below
• compôte at room temp, such that it has workable consistency
• pre-heat oven to 160° C (320° F), with fan
• spread a teaspoon of coarse salt evenly across the bottom of terrine dish
• spread a generous amount of fresh ground pepper evenly across the bottom of terrine dish
• fill the terrine dishes with liver, to just below half height of the dish
• important: with thumbs or fingers, press the liver firmly into the dish, especially the corners.
• spread a 1 cm (½ inch) layer of fig compote across the liver
• note: if the compote is soft or even runny at room temperature, the liver below the compote will not get cooked!
• fill the rest of the terrine dish with liver, and press into place
• spread coarse salt and pepper evenly across the top, and press into the liver
• place the dishes (without lid) on a rack (not on a sheet!) in the middle of the oven
• bake for 15 minutes
• remove from oven, put lid on each dish and let cool (quicker is better); the yellow duck fat will have surfaced, and seals the liver
• after it has cooled off completely, keep in refrigerator
• remove from fridge half an hour before serving
• serve slices of the terrine, with fig compôte or quince jelly on the side

Instructions for preparation of the liver:

• if done well, this is a very time consuming process. Once you're done, it may look like you have buggered up the entire liver.
• put the liver lobes in ice cold water for several hours, or even overnight; the liver will open up a bit, and as long as the liver s very cold, the liver is more workable
• separate the lobes
• with a paring knife, remove all veins, nerves, membranes. To entirely remove them, you will have to dig into the liver, and break it up further. Don't worry: in the terrine, it will get "puttied" back together.
• the liver will warm up while you are working it, and get greasy (so will your hands). Keep lobe that you're not working on in the cold water.

[recipe by Frank Dörenberg]