Chicken Liver & Green Peppercorn Pâté

There's nothing quite like home made pâté. One whiff of the good stuff and I gotta get me a glass of wine. This is not always applicable, especially when I'm spreading pâté on my morning toast.

Rich in protein and iron, you can't go wrong. This is the blood build up power food. It's the breakfast of champions whilst I try to build up my energy over Meditative March. Check out the health benefits in detail here and here.

Pâté recipes often dictate the use of large quantities of butter. Since I'm not a massive fan (of adding fat to my already generous Greek hips), I've kept butter to a minimum.

Chicken Liver & Green Peppercorn Pâté
10 mins prep time, 2 hrs marinating, 15-20 mins cooking time plus refrigeration

500 grams fresh chicken livers
1 small onion, diced
3 tablespoons fresh green peppercorns
sea salt
splash brandy
2 bay leaves
thyme (fresh or dried)
1 garlic clove, crushed with side of a knife
2 small sticks unsalted butter
olive oil
milk

Shove the chicken livers in a large bowl add milk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. I like to use rice milk and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the olive oil and one stick of butter in a pan, brown the onion. Take the chicken livers out of the milk, add them to the hot pan with onion and stir. Add the green peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and garlic.

Douse the ingredients with a splash of brandy. I find the brandy kills any "livery" smell.

Cook for no more than 10 minutes. The chicken livers should not be overly cooked, so inside they're still slightly pink.

 

Take pan off the heat and set aside. Remove the bay leaves and thyme twigs (if any).

Shove the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Add a stick of cold butter and whizz.

Spoon mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate. The pâté will last up to 6 days.

Tips

• If you like your pâté sweeter, add a splash of port when you're whizzing the mixture.
• You can freeze the pâté if it's too much to eat in one hit.
• If you love your pepper and extra heat, after you've whizzed the mixture, stir through some whole green peppercorns.