Every time I make chicken liver paté, I go through the same head-scratching search. So, finally, here is the answer written down.
For parties I make three times this amount which is enough to fill precisely my large Le Creuset terrine which, I think, holds about 2lbs. (That makes sense if you add up the weigths of the ingredients.) This, however, is the single amount.
Planning
| serves: | 6 |
| preparation time: | 15 mins |
| cooking time: | 30 mins |
Ingredients
- 250g unsalted butter
- 400g fresh chicken livers, trimmed
- 50g tin salted anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
- 2 medium banana/long shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbs brandy
- Salt & pepper
Method
Put aside one third of your pack of butter. (This is to seal the paté once potted.) Make the paté with the remaining two thirds butter.
Trim and halve the chicken livers. Melt about 30g butter in a frying pan and add the chicken livers. Add a few grindings of black pepper and cook them gently, turning occasionally, for about 7 minutes until cooked through. Tip them, along with all the pan juices, into a food processor.
In the same pan, melt a further 30g butter and sweat the chopped shallots, along with the anchovies and oregano, until the shallots are soft but not browned (about 5 minutes) and the anchovies have melted. Stir in the smashed garlic towards the end and cook it for about 2 minutes. Toss in the brandy and simmer it for a minute to drive off the alcohol. (Sniff it, don’t waste it.) Tip this lot into the blender with the livers.
Roughly dice the remainder of your two thirds of butter and add it to the processor. Blitz it all until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with pepper. (You probably won’t need salt because you have a lot of anchovies in there.)
Fill your chosen paté container(s) with the blitzed paté and smooth the top. Melt the reserved one third butter over gentle heat before poring it over the paté to cover the top completely.
Allow the paté to cool and then refrigerate until needed. Remove it from the fridge about an hour before you want to serve it though – it tastes better at room temperature.
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