Kavey's Chicken Liver & Port Pate
Kavey's Chicken Liver & Port Pate
Kavita Favelle
A friend was kind enough to share his a recipe for chicken liver and brandy pate, which I duly tried and enjoyed. Having gained the confidence to experiment I adjusted the recipe and adjusted it again and with a final tweak or two, came up with this one. Mine has rather a lot more alcohol than my friend's recipe (and garlic too), so you may wish to add less/ add gradually, the first time you make it, in case you prefer less!
Ingredients
400 grams chicken livers
150 grams butter
1 large onion; diced or finely sliced
Thyme; fresh or dried, to taste.
5-6 cloves garlic; roughly chopped or crushed
Salt & pepper
100-120 ml port
Optional
Clarified butter; to cover
Replace 50 gm butter with 50 gm double cream
Instructions
Chop the onion and garlic finely and soften in about 1/4 of the butter until just starting to colour.
Add the livers, thyme and seasoning and fry together over reasonably high heat for about 3 minute until the livers have stiffened and browned. They should be pale pink inside but no dark (raw) pink.
Leave to cool.
Tip the contents of the pan (including any melted butter/ juices) into a food processor and blend.
Once you have achieved a smooth paste add the rest of the butter (and the cream, if using) and blend again.
Add the port, check the seasoning and blend once more to combine.
Then pour into a large, shallow dish or individual ramekin pots.
Tap the pots gently to free bubbles and leave to cool.
Optional: Melt some butter and remove impurities before pouring very gently over the surface of the pate, to a depth of about 3 mm.
Refrigerate overnight.
Serve, from the fridge, with toasted bread or brioche and a sweet jam or chutney.
Notes
This pate really does need to overnight in the fridge before serving. It's far too runny on the day it's made.
Even after a night in the fridge, this is a soft, spreadable pate; not the kind you can cut into slices and lift out of the dish. For that reason, I make it in a large, shallow dish for an informal dinner, where everyone dives in and spoons a dollop into their own plates or in individual ramekins for a more formal presentation.
If the surface is covered in butter, it will last a few days in the fridge.
It freezes very well, just allow it to defrost for several hours in the fridge.
