Pâté - our chicken liver pate recipe

Pate, is of course, cheap and easy to buy from the shops, but once you have made your own, believe us, you will be amazed at the difference.

Chicken Liver Pate

Trim off any ‘white bits or gristle’ from about 500g of fresh chicken livers. Just don’t ‘think about it’! Pat dry with kitchen towel and cut into about 3cm pieces. Into a large pan melt 125g of cold butter and a good splash of sunflower or vegetable oil (to stop the butter burning). Add 2 chopped shallots and 2 large cloves of chopped garlic and simmer until soft for a few minutes. Add the liver with a sprig of rosemary and/or 3 fresh bayleaves. Simmer for about 8 minutes until cooked through (very tad slightly pink inside is OK). Don’t

cook for too long as the pate will be grey! Which is not a good look. Now add about 80ml of brandy or red wine or sherry and simmer for a little longer until the alcohol has reduced – total about 10 minutes. Told you it was quick!

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Done, you have just made our chicken liver pate recipe.

Allow to cool, just a little, and tip all into a food blender and whiz for a few minutes until really smooth.

You can also use a hand blender if you do not have the big boy!

If you like your pate chunkier, just don’t blitz so long. A coarse pate was always seen as a more 'farmhouse' style and smoother was linked to restaurants and deli's.

If you want it really smooth and silky you could always then push the pate through a muslin.

Now tip into a nice serving dish.

|If you are serving straight away you could leave it like this, and it will be delish, but if you are making in advance or for just something extra special, melt a couple of tablespoons of good cold butter (NOT margarine) in a small saucepan. It will bubble and a ‘froth’ will appear on top. Strain off this froth which you could always stir through the pate itself if you like extra creaminess, and you are left with clear golden clarified butter.

Once the pate is cold pour this golden nectar on top of the pate. Place 2 fresh bayleaves on top and pop in the fridge to set, covered, overnight.

Serve this lovely pate topped with the melted butter onto crusty bread and pickles, on top of oatcakes or brushcettas with a caramelised onion chutney or onto savoury biscuits or very retro melba toast.

A huge hit with our hosts.

Mushroom Pate

Other pate ideas are to fry 500g of mushrooms (the better quality they are the more intense the flavours and smells will be) with 2 chopped shallots and a clove of garlic in butter and oil with about 50 ml of sherry for about 20 minutes. A sprig of thyme or pinch of tarragon is good too. Once cool stir through 250g of good cream cheese. Leave chunky as it is, or blend till smooth.

Very good and very rich. Served as per the chicken pate or stir through fresh pasta and rissotto or even place a quenelle on top of a baked chicken breast, piece of a steak or a griddled pork chop.

Mackerel Pate

Finally, maybe the easiest of them all. Using shop bought cooked mackerel, get your food processor, flake the mackerel, some cream cheese with a splash of fresh lemon juice, maybe some fresh dill or a tad of dill mustard or horseradish or small splash of tabasco. \

blitz until combined and even longer for a smoother paste. Place into a pretty dish and chill before serving. You can use different types of smoked or cooked fish for this type of pate, or any additional flavours you like. This is the joy of homemade food, you can create what ever you want however you want!

Enjoy!

PS Rather than buy bay leaves if you need a couple for the recipes –and if you are local to us – just ask-

we have a large bush!