Homemade Pâté – OoLaLa!
I am a little late on this post. I promised my good friend Kathy along with my father this recipe weeks ago! But to be honest as much as I love to share my recipes I kind of like keeping this 1 to myself. It”s like my secret weapon; if I give it away they will have no reason to invite me over anymore. I kid, sorta.
All three of us love Pâté, M not so much; I get his portion! But its pretty expensive. In fact when you realize what is in it and how easy it is to make it really grates my cheese. I have dreams of making this in big batches and selling it to make my millions, or at least a couple hundred bucks!
So without further ado here is the recipe for 1 of the best creamy pâté ever and the best part is it costs pennies! OK, Kathy you better still invite me over, I do come with wine!
They wouldn’t wait for me to get my camera! It really is that good.
Recipe: Makes two 1 cup Ramekins.
Pâté:
8 oz chicken or other poultry livers, dark spots removed
1 stick butter
1/2 cup shallots
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 T. cognac ( or other tasty spirit)
1 t. fresh herb minced such as parsley or tarragon or none.
salt and pepper to taste
Aspic:
1/4 cup stock (any good quality will work, I like to make mine with a veal demi-glace for richness)
1 t. cognac or more to taste (see above)
1 t. sherry or other quality vinegar
1/2 t. gelatin
salt and pepper to taste – sometimes I use rough cracked pepper for texture and taste
Method – Pâté:
Melt 1/2 the butter over medium heat until just melted, add shallots. Reduce heat and cook until translucent. Add garlic and saute a little longer till fragrant, make sure not brown! Now carefully add the cognac and cook down a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the cream. Simmer for a couple more minutes then add the remaining butter stirring to melt. Take off heat and set aside to cool.
Using your blender puree the raw livers until smooth. Add the shallots and cream mixture and puree on high until everything is completely smooth and pale in color.
Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer pushing the mixture through with the back of a spoon.
Fill 2 ramekins with the mixture leaving about 1/4 inch room at the top for the aspic.
Transfer (carefully) the ramekins to a deep sided baking dish placed in a preheated 300 degree oven. Cover ramekins tightly with aluminum foil and fill baking dish with boiling water 1/2 way up the side of ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes until pâté is set (like a cheesecake).
Cool to room temperature and transfer to the refrigerator. Once chilled make the aspic.
Method – Aspic:
Combine everything except the gelatin in a saucepan (or microwave) until simmering stir in the gelatin to dissolve. Cool. Once cooled pour on top of the chilled pâté and return to the fridge until the aspic sets up; a couple hours.
Before serving bring to room temperature. Serve with good french bread and wine.
I know it sounds like a lot of work but really you spend more time waiting for everything to cool down than anything else. Plus each ramekin of pâté costs about $1; yup ONE DOLLAR! Compare that to $50/lb in gourmet stores, doesn’t seem like too much work now does it! Also, you get to be creative. Once you have the method down you can switch up the flavors or add textures if you prefer.
By the way I should mention I got inspiration for this recipe from the very lovely Steamy Kitchen; Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
ENJOY!
