Chicken liver pate garnished with baby vegetables pickled in honey vinegar

Ingredients
400g/14 oz Plump Fresh Chicken Livers
8 Shallots
1 Garlic clove
1 Sprig of Thyme
50ml/ 2 fl oz Cognac
100ml/ 31/2 fl oz dry Madeira
100ml/ 3 ½ fl oz port
400g/ 14 oz unsalted butter, plus
1 teaspoon
5 eggs

Melted dripping or cooking fat, to seal salt and freshly ground white pepper
Pickled vegetables to serve

Planning ahead
Order fresh chicken livers well in advance and ask your butcher to remove the gall. If the livers are dark, soak them in milk for 1 day to remove all traces of blood. Wash, drain and pat dry before using.
The pate and pickled vegetables must be made at 1 least 1 day in advance.

Preparing the pate (10 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 150 ºC / 300 ºF/ gas 2.
In a medium saucepan, sweat the chopped shallots and garlic in 1 teaspoon butter without colouring. Add the Cognac, Madeira and port, bring to the boil and reduce the liquid by four-fifths. Set aside.
Butter : Melt slowly in a small saucepan.
Chicken livers: If the galls are still attached, cut the flesh away from them. If any of the bitter liquid from the gall touches the liver, wash thoroughly amalgamated. Using the back of a ladle, force the mixture through a fine conical sieve into the terrine. Cover with buttered greaseproof paper.

Cooking the pate (1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1 day resting)
Line a deep roasting pan with foil. Put in the terrine and pour I enough hot water to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the terrine. Cook in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check the oven temperature with a thermometer (do not trust the thermostat) if it rises above 300 ºC/ 150 ºF/ gas 2, the pate will become overcooked and grey.

To check if the pate is cooked, insert a trussing needle into the centre for 2 seconds, then withdraw it; it should be hot and dry. Remove the cooked pate from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Steal with a little melted fat to prevent discoloration and allow to rest for 1 day.

Serving (5 minutes)
Remove the fat from the surface of the pate. If the top is still slightly grey, scrape off a fine layer with a teaspoon and smooth over. Dip the terrine into a bowl of hot water for a few seconds and turn out the pate onto a chopping board. Dip the blade of a sharp knife into hot water and carve generous slices. Arrange on individual plates or a serving dish, scatter ribbons of pickled vegetables around the edge and serve.

If you have questions and comments, please email them to Chef Philip John Golding Philip@yats-international.com.

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