I love chicken liver pâté! Liver is one the most nutritious foods on the planet. Gram for gram, liver contains more nutrients than any other food. It contains a high concentration of B vitamins (in particular vitamin B12 and folate), vitamin A and easily absorbable iron. All of these nutrients are important for brain and nervous system functioning, healthy immunity and reproduction. Vitamin A is also important for skin health and great for those suffering skin issues such as acne as well as normalising heavy menstrual bleeding. Contrary to popular belief liver does not store toxins instead it stores important nutrients that the body needs to neutralise and get rid of toxins.
A great way to get liver into your diet is making it into a pâté and spreading it on toasted sourdough, raw crudités or crisp bread. This is one of my favourite go to snacks to keep my energy levels up and my blood sugar balanced. I recommend eating liver a couple of times a week. A lot of commercial pâtés are full of preservatives and margarine so it’s best to make it yourself! The below recipe is super delicious and so easy to make.
Chicken Liver Pâte
Ingredients:
400g organic, free range chicken livers (I buy Dutchy Organic)
300g butter, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 small brown shallots or 1⁄2 onion, finely chopped
1⁄2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp French brandy
½ tsp grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g butter, for topping
Method:
Trim any stringy sinews from the liver, rinse and gently pat dry with kitchen paper.
Melt 30g of the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the livers and thyme, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes, or until the livers are coloured on the outside but pink in the centre (overcooking the livers will result in a grainy pate). Pour in the brandy, cook for an extra 10 seconds, then add the remaining butter and nutmeg to the pan.
Set aside for a few minutes for the butter to soften and transfer the contents of your pan to a food processor or blender and process on high for 1 minute or until very smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour the pate into ramekins, a large terrine dish or kilner jars and chill. Melt the extra butter and pour it over the pâté to seal. I like to add some thyme leaves for decoration. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before eating. If the butter seal isn’t disturbed it should last as long as two weeks in the fridge.
Serve with fresh or toasted sourdough, crispbread or raw crudités as a healthy nutritious snack.
Be well,
Nikki x
