Chicken liver pate

Our family loves this chicken liver pate, made with an old family recipe.

It works well as a starter and looks great on the table. Try spreading it on a thin slice of toast – really tasty!

recipe...

Ingredients:

750g chicken liver

Whole milk

2 tsp salt

1 medium onion

1 glove of garlic

2 medium sized carrots, cooked

3 medium sized eggs, boiled

Leaves of 4 thyme sprigs

150g butter

1 tbsp of double cream

Method:

Rinse the chicken livers in cold water and add them to a large bowl with a 1:1 mix of water and whole milk (enough to cover the liver) and 2 tsp of salt. Soak for an hour. After soaking, rinse and drain the chicken liver, and chop into 2-3cm cubes.

Heat a knob of butter on a pan and fry the liver with the finely chopped onion, garlic and thyme. Fry until the liver is browned but still soft inside, which should not take more than 15 minutes. Take care not to overcook the liver, otherwise the pate will not be tender and tasty. 

Using a blender or food processor, mix the liver with 50g of soft butter, cooked carrots, eggs and double cream and blend to a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Line the tin for the pate with cling film, leaving enough all around to cover the top of the pate. Place 1/3 of the pate into the tin and add a layer of thinly sliced butter on top of it (use half of the remaining butter). Repeat with another 1/3 of the pate and the remaining butter and top it off with the final bit of pate. Smooth the surface, cover with the cling film and chill for 6 - 8 hours.

To serve, turn the pate out on a serving dish and remove the cling film – add a sprig of thyme on top as a garnish if you wish. 

Absolutely wonderful pate!

Bon appétit!