I have threatened to bring this Chicken Liver and Mushroom Pâté recipe to you for some time now.
This recipe was first mentioned in August last year (10 months ago) in my first post about the Epic Chew Town Picnic of 2013. The epic picnic got its name because, like always, I decided to go a little over the top in preparation. I decided absolutely nothing would be store bought, so I undertook to cook eight dishes for the picnic from scratch. I honestly believed that I could, like some sort of super human robot person, cook AND photograph all the dishes the night before the picnic. Scotty arrived home late that night to me quite clearly beside myself with exhaustion, and trying to understand why the hell I would put myself through it. Well, because I needed to know that I could do it.
While I was able to cook all the dishes in one night (at what cost to my sanity I’m not sure), I wasn’t able to photograph a single one. So, I took my camera with me to the park to capture all the dishes in situ. The recipes posts that followed (all shot in the park) were:
The reason for the delay on the other recipes? My perfectionism got the better of me as it is sometimes wont to do, and I just wasn’t 100% happy with the other photos. So, I have undertaken the task of re-cooking and photographing the recipes again, slowly, over time – because I have learnt to curb my penchant for overachieving.
An opportunity to make the pâté came again at Easter time when my family decided that we would have a low key celebration this year. The plan was that I would bring the chacuterie plate for entree, my mother and sister would make fresh gnocchi for main, and mum would bust out her famed apple pie for dessert (which I will definitely be cooking for you all soon).
I made spelt flour crackers to serve with the pâté, bought some spectacular cheese and squid ink Italian sausage to go with, and re-made my smoked salmon crepe cake.
…Ok, maybe I haven’t quite stopped going overboard just yet.
Chicken Liver and Mushroom Pate
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms
- 500g chicken livers
- 250g butter
- 2 spring onions - finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove - crushed
- 75ml brandy
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme
Cut away and discard any large sinews from the chicken livers, and set aside.
Add the dried mushrooms to a bowl of boiling hot water and leave to soak.
Heat 50g butter in a frying pan till melted, then add the spring onion, garlic and thyme and cook over a low heat for about 4 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the livers, then fry till browned on all sides.Add the brandy and boil down as quickly as possible. Remove the pan from the heat, season generously with salt and pepper, and leave to cool completely.
Drain the mushrooms and pat dry on kitchen paper then roughly chop. Melt 25g butter in a pan over medium high heat and cook the mushrooms for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Once liver mixture has cooled, place it in the bowl of a food processor with 75g butter and the mushrooms blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding more if required, then divide the mixture evenly between 6 ramekins and level the top of each.
Gently melt the remaining butter (100g) in a small pan. Pour the clear yellow butter off the top into a measuring jug and then distributer evenly over the top of each ramekin. Add a small sprig of thyme to each and place in the fridge to set.
I remember that post about your epic cooking night! What a challenge you set yourself. No way could I do that and photograph any of them (in fact I’ll never photograph more than 3 dishes at a time, and really don’t like doing even that any). Anyway, glad to finally see the pâté — this looks terrific. Definitely worth the wait.
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And we won’t have you any other way. You’ve inspired me to get out and buy some liver. I now have a craving!
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You may take on a lot, but you always seem to get it done. You never take on more than you can………. chew :p
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Date night tonight. Have chicken livers – making this! 🙂 (I normally make mine with duck leg meat, rilletes style, but I’m sure this will be to die for.
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I made two kilos of parfait a few weeks back. Double sieving. Oh the tedium but yep worth it in the end. I like the idea of adding porcini mushrooms though!
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Just making one dish and photographing it wears me out. I can’t imagine doing eight in one night and for them to come out so very lovely!!! Liver pate’ is one of my most favorite guilty pleasures. I know I would love the addition of porcini mushrooms. Fabulous recipe!
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This looks awesome, will the chicken liver mushroom pate freeze great. I’m looking for appetizers I can freeze for a my busy day charter business?! Thankyou
This looks awesome, will it freeze perfectly? I am looking for freeze ahead recipies for my soon to be busy day charter business .…