a Family Cookbook with a splash of Art
home 
about 
follow us 
search recipes:
Loading...
When I was little I hated liver. Maybe because in my kindergarten they made us little kids eat it no matter what, to keep us well-nourished and fattened. I was as thin as a twig at that time, but strongly resisted getting the hated liver down. I sat over my plate much longer than it was considered acceptable and stared at that disgusting brown piece... Strangely enough, but I like it now. Sometimes I even have sudden cravings for liver and hurry to my favourite dairy and meat farm to fetch some beef livers. Today's recipe however offers chicken livers pate that is lighter than beef and equally, if not more, tasty. I just happened to have some fresh chicken livers that were bought for my newly arrived kitten, but the little mischief-maker refused to eat this, so I decided to use it for human members of the family..

What you need:
About 1 lb fresh chicken livers
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely cut
70g butter, whipped
Salt to taste
Black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Filtered water

Method:
Rinse livers in cold water, remove as many ligaments as possible, cover with filtered water and put on low heat. Let it barely simmer for about 10 minutes or less. In five minutes salt a little. Fish out one piece and cut it in half , if there is no redness and blood inside, the livers are ready. Remove from heat immediately and cool a little. Simmer onions with some liver water until tender and translucent. Reserve some liver water and discard the rest, put livers and onions through the food processor, and then through a fine sieve to remove all impurities.
Whip butter until it becomes whitish and of creamy consistency, add to liver mass, add pepper, nutmeg and more salt if needed. Mix and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon to homogeneous consistency. Add some liver water for a thinner pate if you wish (usually it is not needed). The ideal thickness should be like in thick sour cream.
Arrange your pate nicely on a plate or in a bowl, garish with greens, chill for about 20 minutes, and serve with fresh bread, toasts or crackers.

Notes:
Liver must not be overdone, otherwise it becomes tough and make a lumpy uneven pate.
Dieters may reduce butter content and add more liver water instead, but please do not skip the butter completely - you will lose the delightful creamy flavor that is absolutely necessary in a good pate.
Beef pate is usually made with carrots. I simmer liver pieces with thinly sliced onions and carrots in some water, then do the same as in this recipe.

When I eat my liver pate I always reminisce my childhood days of liver abhorrence and think why I was such a fool to skip so many happy eating moments.
Tags:    appetizer liver meat Russian traditional
Summary: a Russian traditional appetizer recipe
blog comments powered by Disqus