Ingredients

Step by step

1. Put the chicken breast meat into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the chopped shallots and garlic, cover, and cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes until softened but not browned. Leave to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Break the egg into a mixing jug and briefly whisk in the brandy and the cream. Slowly mix this into the chilled minced chicken with a wooden spoon, then stir in the pistachios, softened shallots, diced chicken thigh meat, chopped ham, chopped thyme, the salt and ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into 4 x 350ml clip-top preserving jars. Level the tops and set the rubber sealing rings aside. Cover the jars with foil but leave the lids open and place in a medium-sized roasting tin. Pour boiling hot water from the kettle into the tin until it comes halfway up the sides of the jars. Cook in the oven for about 1 hour until the mixture feels firm when pressed gently with your finger and the juices are clear when the centre is pierced with a skewer. Remove from the roasting tin and leave to cool. If there is any liquid that has collected in the base of the jars, pour this off after cooling. Discard the foil.
5. To serve, drop the leaves of gelatine into a bowl of cold water and leave them to soak for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock up to the boil into a small pan. Lift the gelatine leaves out of the water and squeeze out the excess water. Drop them into the hot stock and stir until completely dissolved. Decorate the top of the pâtés with the thyme sprigs, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour a thin layer of the stock into each pot until completely covered, transfer them to the fridge and chill for 2 hours or until the jelly has set. Serve the pâté with some cornichons and crusty fresh bread or toasted sourdough bread.