Soups & Starters · England-wide

Chicken Liver Pâté

Name: Chicken Liver Pâté
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 500g chicken livers, trimmed; 150g butter, plus 75g for sealing; 1 shallot, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove; 2 tbsp brandy; 1 tsp thyme leaves; ¼ tsp ground allspice; Salt and black pepper; Toast, cornichons and red onion marmalade, to serve

Silky, brandy-kissed pâté sealed under butter — the starter of a million 1970s dinner parties and still the best thing on toast before eight o’clock.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 35 min
Yield: Serves 6
Difficulty: Moderate
Era: Dinner-party era

Ingredients

500g chicken livers, trimmed
150g butter, plus 75g for sealing
1 shallot, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove
2 tbsp brandy
1 tsp thyme leaves; ¼ tsp ground allspice
Salt and black pepper
Toast, cornichons and red onion marmalade, to serve

Method

Soften the shallot and garlic in 50g of butter for 5 minutes.
Turn up the heat, add the livers and sear 2–3 minutes — they must stay pink inside.
Add the brandy, thyme and allspice; flame or simmer 1 minute.
Blend with the remaining 100g butter until completely smooth; season assertively.
Pack into a terrine, seal with the melted butter and chill overnight.
Serve with hot toast, cornichons and marmalade.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.