French pâté
Description
A tasty appetizer for any gathering. French pâté can be made in many ways. What sets it apart from our traditional pâté? Probably the elegant presentation and certain ingredients that add zest to the dish. In this recipe I describe how to make chicken liver pâté with pomegranate jelly. You can use any other liver and replace the pomegranate with another fruit or berry. Experiment, and you’ll get an exquisite dish. It can be served warm or chilled.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Take out the chicken liver. We need to clean it of membrane and connective tissue. And, of course, cognac. You can marinate the liver in a cognac solution ahead of time, or pour it in later while cooking.
- 2
Step 2
Let's work on the vegetables. Take shallots and carrots. By the way, if you couldn't find shallots like these, you can use regular yellow onion—preferably sharp varieties. Chop the vegetables however you like; they'll all get ground up later anyway.
- 3
Step 3
Cut the pork fat into pieces. The pork fat should be raw, not salted. Pour olive oil into a skillet and add the pork fat. Fry it. Then add the chopped vegetables to the same pan and stew everything.
- 4
Step 4
Add the sliced liver to the stewed vegetables and pour in a shot of cognac. Cover the skillet with a lid and braise. Meanwhile, prepare the spices. Crush the cloves, cumin, and marjoram. I’ll also add black peppercorns and sea salt. Sprinkle everything into the skillet and add a piece of butter. Braise for another 5 minutes until fully cooked.
- 5
Step 5
Transfer the slightly cooled liver with vegetables to a deep bowl. Take out the sour cream or thick plain yogurt and combine it with our mixture. Use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients until they reach a pâté consistency.
- 6
Step 6
Now—the finishing touch for our French pâté, the main highlight of the treat! Cut open the pomegranate. Break it into sections and pick out the arils. Put some of the seeds (or all of them—your choice) in a small saucepan with a little water diluted with gelatin, and simmer with sugar.
- 7
Step 7
Take a dish for the pâté. Spoon the pâté mixture into it and smooth the surface. Pour the cooling pomegranate jelly over the pâté. The jelly should not be too hot. Place the finished dish in the refrigerator. After a couple of hours, everything will set. Serve with toast! Enjoy your meal!