“Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.” – Peter De Vries
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Chicken Liver Paté
Yesterday, in preparation for the upcoming holidays, I made a batch of chicken liver paté. This time I used a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. In the past, I’ve used a somewhat different recipe, which I modify slightly.
In either recipe, start with fresh raw chicken livers, cleaned of any “hangy on bits”, rinsed well, and marinated in milk for a couple of hours. The milk marinade removes the gamey-ness of the livers and makes for a milder flavored paté.
While marinating, prepare your other ingredients: a cup of finely chopped yellow onion (about one small onion); two teaspoons of finely chopped garlic (two large cloves); two tablespoons of green peppercorns (drained); two bay leaves; a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, chopped.
After marinating, drain the livers well. While they are draining, sauté the yellow onion in four tablespoons of butter. When softened, add finely chopped garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken livers, half of the peppercorns, the bay leaves, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
Sauté for about 5 minutes until the livers are brown on the outside, but if you cut into one, still pink in the middle. Add 1/4 cup of Cognac and continue cooking until the juices are reduced and the livers are just cooked through.
Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a while then add to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, one at at time and pulse to blend well. Remove blade from the processor scraping all the goodness from it. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of green peppercorns.
Pour into 3 or 4 small ramekins and cover well with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least six hours.
Serve spread on toast and a nice red wine or champagne. A bit of chopped parsley dresses it up some. Cornichons are a great accompaniment.
Posted under: Food and Cooking • by Rick on 10/21/2012 at 06:24 AM
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