For some reason, I was in the mood for some chicken liver pate' a few days ago. I don't really know why, so I searched the interweb for a recipe and found one that I adapted. This pate' recipe was inspired by foodie, Felicity Cloake. This is the first time I have ever made pate', and I enjoyed reading Felicity's breakdown and critique of the many chefs' versions of this seemingly forgotten French fare. She discussed the different ingredients such as they types of alliums used in some recipes, like garlic, shallots, onions, leeks, etc. and why or why not she liked them. She also went through the different types of alcohols like brandy, cognac, or Madeira, citing their assets and liabilities. She seems to be more of a purist, and one who isn't in favor of ingredients that compete with or take away the thunder of the star of the recipe, in this case the chicken liver. I would have to agree, so I am going to take her approach to this dish and do perhaps an even more restrained version. Okay, so I'll add some cremini mushrooms, but that is as ritzy as this is going to get.
Why make your own pate'? Why not, since it seems easy enough, and its fairly in expensive to produce compared to some of the ones on specialty food market shelves these days, if you can find it that is. As I recall, even as young as I was, it seemed to be all the rage in the 80's, but at the time I wasn't too fond of chicken liver like I am now. So, I have decided to try my hand at making it, since both my little guy, and my husband like chicken liver, so I figure they should like pate' too. So here is my recipe for Chicken liver pate', and I hope you will give it a try! I must apologize, some of the pictures are blurry, and that is because my camera is difficult to use one handed; not because I was sampling the wine!
Why make your own pate'? Why not, since it seems easy enough, and its fairly in expensive to produce compared to some of the ones on specialty food market shelves these days, if you can find it that is. As I recall, even as young as I was, it seemed to be all the rage in the 80's, but at the time I wasn't too fond of chicken liver like I am now. So, I have decided to try my hand at making it, since both my little guy, and my husband like chicken liver, so I figure they should like pate' too. So here is my recipe for Chicken liver pate', and I hope you will give it a try! I must apologize, some of the pictures are blurry, and that is because my camera is difficult to use one handed; not because I was sampling the wine!
One shallot finely chopped with 1 tsp. finely chopped thyme (about 2 to 3 sprigs). Set aside.
Measure out 5 Tbsp. white wine or Madeira and 5 Tbsp, heavy whipping cream. Felicity mentioned that some traditional alcohols such as brandy, might be too bold and mask or take away from the liver flavor rather than support it, so I chose a pinot grigio. If i could find my favorite white bordeaux, then I would have used that. Set aside.
Measure out 1/2 tsp. salt, pinch of allspice, and 1/4 tsp. of ginger. Set aside. You can use different or more spices, but not too much, remember, the goal here is to add flavor without over powering the chicken liver.
Cut 12 Tbsp. of butter into cubes or into Tbsp. size slices, because it will be divided up with in the recipe.
Tablespoon slices would be easier for those who are beginning cooks.
Set aside.
Tablespoon slices would be easier for those who are beginning cooks.
Set aside.
Prepare 1 lb. or 16 oz. of chicken livers by removing any fat and connective tissue with a knife. Lightly pat dry and set aside in a bowl. Also slice mushrooms of your choice and set aside. This is optional.
Place 2 Tbsp. of butter, shallots, and thyme into skillet and sweat on med. heat until soft, about 3 to 4 min.
Add the chicken livers and turn up heat to med. high.
Saute livers on one side until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes, and them turn them over to brown on the other side for another 3 to 5 minutes. You want them slightly pink on the inside, so don't over cook them.
Place liver mixture into the bowl of a food processor.
Pour white wine or Madeira into skillet and cook down until it is a few table spoons. this concentrates the flavor and helps get up all that crispy brown meaty goodness, known as "fond" in the culinary world, off the bottom of the pan. Add 5 Tbsp. of butter and let it melt without browning.
Pour the reduced alcohol, and butter from the saute pan, and the heavy cream into the bowl of the food processor.
Whiz until smooth and creamy. Pour into a serving bowl, or into a parchment or cling wrap lined tureen, if you want to turn it out for slicing. I'm too lazy, so I went with the bowl.
Place mushrooms into skillet and onto med. high heat and saute until most of the water is cooked out of the mushrooms, and add remaining 5 Tbsp. butter.
Tip mushrooms and butter onto the top of the awaiting pate' and carefully spread out the mushrooms evenly over the pate'.
Cover and refrigerate the pate' until it is well set, about 3 hours, and then enjoy with some really good crusty bread, either lightly toasted, grilled (bruscetta style), or even some good crackers would be nice. The buttered mushrooms on top will come out looking cloudy, but that is just the hardened butter solids. Some people put aspic (meat jello) on top, and instead of mushrooms, they arrange herbs in a pattern in the butter. Do what you like and make this recipe your own!
You can also serve pate' with some of its traditional accompaniments such as cornichons, wine, and sopressa, or other type of salami. And if you're in the mood, don on your barrette, and it wouldn't hurt to play some French music in the back ground either.
Bon Apetite!
Bon Apetite!