WHAT YOU DO
Step 1. Wash the livers in cold water and remove any membrane or green tinged bits. Dry on kitchen paper.
Step 2. Melt a little butter in a frying pan; when the butter begins to foam, add in the livers and cook over a gentle heat. Be careful not to overcook them or the outsides will get crusty; all trace of pink should be gone.
Step 3. Add the crushed garlic and thyme leaves to the pan, stir and then de-glaze the pan with brandy, allow to flame or reduce for two to three minutes.
Step 4. Scrape everything with a spatula into a food processor. Purée for a few seconds. Allow to cool.
Step 5. Add about 225g butter. Purée until smooth. Season carefully, taste and, if necessary, add more butter.
Step 6. Put into individual pots or one large terrine. Tap on the worktop to knock out any air bubbles.
Step 7. Clarify the butter by gently heating it in a saucepan. Allow to stand for a few minutes. Spoon the white layer of salt particles off the top and discard. The clear liquid butter is the clarified butter. Spoon a little over the top of the pâté to seal. Discard the milky liquid.
Step 8. Serve with melba toast or hot white bread. This will keep for four or five days in a fridge. It is essential to cover the pâté with a layer of clarified or even just melted butter, otherwise it will oxidise and become bitter in taste and grey in colour.
TIP: Use duck livers instead of chicken for a richer flavour. You may need to increase the amount of butter used.
Ballymaloe pâté serving suggestions
- Serve in tiny pottery pots as part of a second course called ‘little pots of pâté’.
We fill the pâté into a loaf tin lined with clingfilm and, when it is set, slices are arranged on individual plates with a little dice of well-seasoned tomato concasse and then it is garnished with chervil or lemon balm.
- For a buffet, the loaf-shaped pâté may be covered with a thin layer of soft butter, which is decorated with tiny rosettes of butter and thyme leaves and flowers. The whole pâté is then arranged on a bed of lettuce and salad leaves and garnished with herbs in flower.
Rosettes of pâté may be piped onto tiny triangles of melba toast, cheese biscuits, or slices of cucumber. These rosettes are very pretty but must be served within an hour of being prepared otherwise they oxidise and become bitter. Garnish with a spot of tomato concasse and a little chervil.
- Pâté may be formed into a roll, wrapped in clingfilm or greaseproof paper and refrigerated. Later, the paper is removed and the roll of pâté decorated. It can be coated in finely chopped herbs and decorated with herb flowers.
- To serve in a kilner jar, fill the jar no more than a quarter full with the pâté, cover with a layer of melted, clarified butter. To serve, fill the rest of the jar with a handful of mixed salad leaves and fresh herbs and two slivers of toasted focaccia.
- For an extra special pâté, soak one sheet of gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes; when soft, discard the water. Warm 150ml of Pedro Ximenez sherry gently in a saucepan, add the gelatine and allow to melt. Cool, then spoon over the top of each ramekin of pâté.
Recipe by Ballymaloe House, photo by Harry Weir
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Serves 10-12 |Difficulty: Medium |
Time: More than an hour
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