Chicken Liver Parfait
With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd share my favourite chicken liver parfait recipe (it's just a silky smooth luxurious pate, really) along with a spiced cranberry compote and homemade cute little brioche loaves. I chose to do cranberry compote this time, given the season. One can find frozen cranberries at good supermarkets. Look out for the Hillcrest frozen berry range. Usually, I simply play around with apple, pear, onion and of course, seasonal plums. All simply divine ingredients to use for a compote. I particularly enjoyed this festive flavour combination with the nostalgic warm and fuzzy spices in the cranberry compote and of course, the sweetness and much-needed tartness it provides to cut through the gloriously rich parfait and buttery brioche. I will post an easy crowd-pleasing dessert recipe tomorrow on my Instagram. So keep an eye out 😉 And then, I'm officially switching off until 6 Jan 2019! Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and an incredible 2019!
Ingredients
- 500 g free range chicken livers or diced free range duck livers
- 75 g butter
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) brandy
- 1/4 c (60 ml) double cream
- Freshly milled salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter, clarified*
- a few sprigs of thyme for garnish
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, heat the butter and sauté the onion, garlic, thyme and nutmeg until fragrant.
- Add the livers and sauté over high heat for 5-8 minutes (they should still be pink inside but not bloody). Don’t overcook please 🙂
- Add the brandy and if on a gas stove, flambé until the alcohol cooks out or simply simmer for 30 seconds.
- Place the livers and onion etc. into a food processor. Strain the cooking juices through a fine sieve or muslin cloth (to remove any coagulated gritty bits) then add the cooking juices and cream to the food processor too.
- [Side note: I didn't need to strain the juices, I simply added all the ingredients of the pan into my Greenis Smart Power Blender and it worked a charm. I usually find when using a normal food processor, one can't achieve that super silky smooth texture without having to sieve the cooking juices and also possibly passing the pate mixture through a sieve again!]
- Blend (I simply pulsed my mixture in the Greenis) until smooooooth. It probably took a minute or so. Nice hey? Season well to taste.
- If not using a power blender, pass blended mixture through a sieve – this is a little time consuming but it is so worth the extra effort.
- Spoon into a cling wrap lined loaf tin or terrine dish.
- Cover with a bit of clarified butter and garnish with a sprig of thyme. Season with Malden salt and pepper.
- Chill for at least 2 hours. Best made the day before if possible to allow a good set.
- Use a clean wet knife when cutting into thick slices or blocks.
- Serve with freshly baked brioche and spiced cranberry compote.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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