This is a great looking dish as well as a tasty one, and the wild rice adds something of an exotic flavor which your guests will love. You bake it in a 2lb loaf tin and then leave it to cool, so give yourself plenty of time. Of course, because you are going to serve it cold, you can prepare it the day before you need it. Remember, also, that wild rice takes longer to cook than its domesticated cousin.
Start out by cooking 40g (1.5oz) of jasmine rice and 35g (1.25oz) of wild rice. Cook the wild rice according to the instructions on the packet. Boil the jasmine rice for exactly 15 minutes in one cup of water or stock and add half a tsp of turmeric to the cooking liquid. Drain.
Line the loaf tin with grease-proof paper and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Have a rung in the middle of the oven, ready for use.
Assemble the following:
6/7 slices of prosciutto, pancetta or rindless streaky bacon
340g (12oz) of minced pork
100g (3.5oz) minced ox or pig liver*
2 minced garlic cloves
1 finely chopped onion
225g (8oz) shredded cabbage
1 beaten egg
1 tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper
You're going to arrange the ingredients in layers, so that when you turn it out you will have a multi-colored 'loaf' which can be sliced and attractively arranged.
To do this, cover the bottom of the lined loaf tin with the strips of ham or bacon. These are what hold the 'loaf' together.
Now mix together the pork, liver*, onion, garlic, herbs and seasoning, and put half this mixture on top of the ham.
Cover this with the cabbage. Mix the two lots of cooked rice together and bind them with the egg, then pile this on to the cabbage and make an even layer. Add the remaining meat mixture and press down firmly and evenly, folding the ham or bacon slices over to finish wrapping the loaf. If they are not long enough to completely cover the meat mixture, that's okay.
Cover the tin with baking foil and stand in a Bain Marie**. Bake for two hours. You may need to top up the water in the Bain Marie from time to time.
At the end of the cooking time, remove the loaf tin from the Bain Marie, place a suitable weight on top and leave to cool. Refrigerate overnight if possible.
To serve, turn out on to your favorite dish and garnish.
* You could use liver pate instead. Not as good in my view but a lot more convenient
** A Bain Marie can be made using a roasting tin one third full of hot water.
Note: I use cooked spinach in place of the cabbage, which gives a deeper color and a stronger flavor. However if you are going to do this, you must squeeze every last drop of water out of the spinach (twist in a teacloth to do this) and then chop finely.
