PÂTÉ DE PÂQUES
In regional France, the pâté de Pâques is the undisputed star of the Easter table. 
This is one of those dishes that does not make it into mainstream cookbooks, which is precisely why it's worth knowing. A seasoned pork forcemeat wrapped in golden puff pastry, with whole soft-boiled eggs hidden inside it, when you slice through it and those eggs reveal themselves, there is always a moment of real pleasure at the table. It's a simplified pâté en croûte, rustic and generous, and exactly the kind of thing the French do well at Easter. Serve it at room temperature with a green salad and a glass of light red.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 6 as a starter
To season and macerate the meat
500 g (17 oz) mixed pork meat
300 g (10½ oz) pork belly
200 g (7 oz) pork fillet8 g (1½ tsp) fine salt
2 g (½ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
20 ml (4 tsp) Madeira wine or cognac
For the forcemeat
All the seasoned minced pork
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp Madeira wine (or cognac, or dry sherry)
1 shallot, finely chopped
10–15 g (1–2 tbsp) dried forest mushrooms (morel or porcini), rehydrated and drained
20 g (¾ oz) unsalted butter
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 egg, beaten (half for the forcemeat, half reserved for egg wash)
For the assembly
2 sheets ready-made all-butter puff pastry, fully defrosted — one standard (base), one larger (lid)
3 medium eggs, for soft-boiling
1 egg yolk, for egg wash
MISE EN PLACE
You will need a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and a meat mincer. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
The meat should ideally be seasoned the night before. Combine the pork with salt, pepper, and Madeira, mix well, cover, and refrigerate overnight if you wish you can ask a quarter teaspoon of quatres epices (4 spices mix). Macerating makes a noticeable difference to the depth of flavor. but if you do not have time just add the seasoning just before mincing the meat.
Make your pastry sheets fully defrosted. The lid sheet must be larger than the base to accommodate the height of the filling.
Method
Start by mincing the meat through the large grid of your mincer, feeding in the belly and fillet together so the fat distributes evenly. You want a nice texture in the finished slice, not a fine paste. Keep the minced meat refrigerated while you prepare the aromatics.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the shallot gently until soft for a minute, then add the mushrooms and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, and set aside to cool then chop the mixture roughly.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the three eggs for exactly 7 minutes. Transfer immediately to cold water, leave for 5 minutes, then peel under a light stream of running water. Set aside.
Transfer the minced pork to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar, cooled aromatics, and half the beaten egg. Beat on low speed for 30–60 seconds until the mixture becomes cohesive and slightly sticky, this is the protein binding, and it's what holds the filling together when sliced. Don't skip this step.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Lay the smaller pastry sheet on the tray lined with baking paper. Spread a bed of forcemeat down the centre, leaving a 4 cm (1½ inch) border on all sides. Keep the mound to about 4–5 cm (2 inches) high. Lay the peeled eggs end to end along the centre, pressing them lightly into the meat, then cover with the remaining forcemeat to form a compact log with no eggs visible.
Brush the pastry border lightly with egg yolk then Lay the larger sheet over the top, press down firmly around all sides, and trim to a 2 cm (¾ inch) border. Crimp the edges with a fork and tuck them neatly underneath. Brush the surface with egg yolk and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes. this firms the butter back up and gives you clean pastry layers when it bakes.
When cool brush with another layer of egg wash then score a simple pattern on the surface of the pie and make a small hole on the top to allow the steam to escape. When ready bake for 40 to 45 minutes until deeply golden all over.
Once baked, leave to rest for at least 30–40 minutes before slicing. The filling needs to set as it cools.
To serve :
Cut 5 cm / 2 inches Slices with a long sharp knife and serve on a board for a buffet or on plate with a side of lettuce in dressing for a neater presentation.
Tip
If you do not want to use pork you can replace it by a mix of veal, beef or chicken.
The resting time is crucial to have the cooking juices reabsorbed by the meat after baking. This makes the difference between something that will feel dry or moist.