During my time in various restaurants. Pate was one of the key items on the menu. But all different flavours and textures.
This recipe is a hybrid of all the pates that I learnt through my experience in many different kitchens.
This is a typical British restaurant item.
If you do not have a stick blender you can use a food processor.
I would recommend buying a stick blender that is powerful enough to blend your chicken livers. (Anything above 400-500w+ is a good start if you are going to blend it once cooked if not 750w+ is a better choice but a bit more expensive.)
Make sure you line your pates with enough cling film so it can just have enough to be folded to make a makeshift handle.
Having a digital thermometer is a handy tool for this recipe as you can just see what core temperature it is on the spot.
Submerging the livers in water to remove the blood and the connective tissue.
Melt the butter for 1 minute in the microwave this is the perfect time for your butter to melt completely.
For more flavour, you could add a bit of natural orange juice to the reduction. This another classical flavour.
If you don’t like the taste of rosemary you could add your choice of dried herbs.
If you want to do the pate without the cling film you can but you must put a bit of oil so it does stick but you must remember the cling film on top.
If you have a rice cooker you can pour half a cup of water (15 minutes) it will come out cooked.
Ingredients
500g Chicken Livers
3 Eggs
50g of unsalted butter
1 Diced red onion
3 Crushed garlic
A sprig of thyme and rosemary
100ml red wine
Salt
Pepper
Method
So to start we need to line our pate moulds (loaf tin) so to do this line so sheets of cling film and make sure that you take out all the air. And place the cling film into your mould this will ensure it will not stick to the mould when taking out your pate.
So now you going to start on the reduction. So finely dice your red onion, garlic. Place to one side.
Now bring a saucepan up to temperature and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add your onion, garlic and your sprig of thyme and rosemary and sweat them off until almost see through this is when you add your red wine and reduce to half and remove from the heat.
Now with a clean pair of hands and a washed chopping board take your pack of livers, drain them into the sink. And submerging the livers in water to remove the blood and the connective tissue. (If you don’t remove the connective tissue when you cook it this tissue will become hard and unpleasant to eat.)
Place your prepared livers into a frying pan and get a nice colour on them and transfer them to a mixing bowl and leave to cool down. Melt a block a butter (1 minute in your microwave) until fully melted.
Moving back place your reduction into the same bowl with the liver and start to blend together the livers while pouring your melted butter.
Once your mix has no visible lumps using a sieve to pass it through to get a smooth mixture. Now pour your pate mix into your mould, place your pate into a steamer (if you don’t have a steamer that’s fine.
Grab a large pot fill with water and grab a round cooling rack and place above the water) and steam until the core temperate reaches 65˚c (use a thermometer to check the temperature accurately) and place your pate into the fridge to firm up.
To serve take a paring knife/ chef knife and place the blade into boil hot water, next take your pate out of the fridge and carefully remove the cling film from the mould and remove the cling film from the pate.
Now dip your knife into the hot water and slice a piece of your pate and place it onto your serving plate.
Bon Appétit!
