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Irish goat’s cheese and wild mushroom terrine

This is one of my favourite starters.

The sautéed mushrooms complement the saltiness of the goat’s cheese perfectly. It is good as a cheese course or cut into small wedges and serve as part of an antipasti platter with Parma ham, oven dried country tomatoes and some crostini. It also makes great picnic food with my apricot chutney as it is so easy to transport – the possibilities are endless.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the mushrooms, season generously and continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes until tender and all of the excess liquid has evaporated from the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the goat’s cheese with the mustard, parsley and a good grinding of pepper. Stir gently for a minute or two until some of the goat’s cheese has just started to melt, tossing the pan occasionally. Be careful not to over cook this or you will end up with a processed cheese type finish.

Transfer the goat’s cheese mixture into a 600 ml/1 pint loaf tin that is lined with cling film. Leave to cool completely, then cover with more cling film and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight is best to firm up.

Turn the terrine out on to a chopping board and peel away the cling film, then cut into individual slices. Arrange on serving plates with the fanned out poached pear.