This recipe is rather overdue, having attempted it about a month ago. I had always wanted to learn how to make this dish that I had always thought was gourmet, posh, high-classy. It was, to my mind after all, French. And France is home of all foods posh and delightful. So when my French friend offered to reveal the glorious secrets of the pâté, there was no way I was going to say no!
I turned up at her apartment at 1830, and straight into the kitchen we went. The ingredients were already laid out on the table and were as follows:
600g of chicken liver
1/2 the liver's weight in butter
Salt
Plenty of pepper
McCormick's Mixed Herbs
Whiskey
A word of warning to those not used to the home cooking style of 'more or less', or as we say in Malaysian kitchens, 'agak-agak', everything is an approximate - no fixed formula. The key for the perfect 'agak-agak' dish is always repetition and variation until you find one you like.
The liver is quickly sautéed in a large pan, till it has turned a shade of grey. Chuck that into a blender together with the butter, salt, pepper, herbs and whiskey. Hit that big red button, then quickly pour out the finely blended purée into a container, and then into the fridge it goes to set. Don't take too long to pour the mixture out from the blender, otherwise the butter will separate from the liver. The pâté should be ready the moment the butter sets, but I left mine overnight.
There are several variations to this dish, and apparently you can add onions and other herbs into the mix, or use other kinds of alcohol, like brandy, cognac, or Madeira Wine. I will leave that to you to figure out.
Now having seen what goes into pâté and effort actually put in, the glamour of pâté has somewhat dimmed a little for me, but nonetheless, I still am quite impressed that such a simple dish can taste so good! Trust the French to enjoy the simple things in life to the fullness of its capacity!
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