Not too long ago liver was a regular on the weekly menu for families. Making your own liver pate is a delicious way to reintroduce this traditional food back into our diets as well as solving the 'what to snack on' problem when you are next standing at the fridge door trying to crack the code on a healthy and satisfying bite to eat.
In many cultures organ meats are some of the most prized parts of an animal. Across the world livers, hearts, kidneys, brains and sweetbreads are revered rather than sent to waste. They are rich in antioxidants, fat-soluble vitamins A and D as well as zinc and iron. These nutrient dense meats reward the cook with exceptional flavour and texture. Break from routine and add to cart with 10% off today.
Ingredients
500g Ethical Farmers Pastured Chicken Liver
250g mushrooms, roughly chopped (Swiss brown preferably but button or field also great)
125g butter (or ghee, or coconut oil)
4 - 5 shallots roughly chopped (or 1 bunch of spring onions)
2 cloves of garlic (minced or grated on a microplane)
150ml dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon of each of your preferred dried herbs (e.g. dried rosemary & thyme or dried dill & parsley)
1 tbs lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
Finely ground salt and pepper to taste
Extra melted butter, ghee or coconut oil to preserve.
Method
In a frypan cook the butter, mushrooms, pastured chicken livers and onions until the livers are brown. Add the wine, herbs and lemon juice. Simmer until liquid has evaporated. Once the mixture is cool, use a blender or food processor to blend until smooth adding water or extra butter to help. Season to taste.
If you don't intend on eating the pate within the first three days, cover the top with melted butter, ghee or coconut oil (essentially, any fat or gelatin jelly that will solidify and form a cap to preserve the pate). You can also freeze pate for 3 months if you want to increase the batch size.
Serve
Pour into a dish and chill in the fridge, the mixture will firm slightly. Serve with crusty baguette or crackers. This recipe will make enough pate for two x 1 cup ramekins (pictured) with some leftover.