Chef Geoff Stevens,
Stephen & Andrew Food & Wine Shoppe
This longtime neighbourhood hors d’oeuvre favourite is easier to make than you might think. Pair with crackers or a sweet, nutty bread that plays off the caramelized onion flavour.
Ingredients
1 500ml tub chicken livers
2 cups cold butter, cubed
2 cups butter, to clarify
1 medium onion, finely diced
¼ cup dark balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Clarified butter
- In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, melt butter over low heat without stirring until the butter separates and stops spitting.
- Pour off the clear butter into a bowl, leaving the white milk solids behind to discard.
Pâté
- In a sauté pan, sear livers on high heat until medium rare. Remove from pan.
- In the pan, cook onions and sugar on high heat, then reduce heat to low and let caramelize approx 20 min.
- Mash together livers and onions, adding cubed butter a little at a time. Put mixture through a very fine sieve, pour into loaf pan or prefered moulds. Cover with plastic wrap and let set in fridge approx 1 ½ hours.
- Once set top with clarified butter to form a 1 cm thick crust and sprinkle with balsamic drops. Return to the fridge, covered, to set the butter, approx 2 hrs.
- Serve with crackers or thinly sliced fruit and nut bread.
Yields 8–10 servings