Snacks and Sauces·Meat, Fish and Poultry Appetizers

Chicken Liver Pâté with Vegetables and Butter

Name: Chicken Liver Pâté with Vegetables and Butter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Chicken liver 0.5 kg; Onion 1; Carrot 1; Celery stalk 1-2; Garlic 1-2 cloves; Butter 100 g; Salt, black pepper, herbes de Provence to taste

For homemade sandwiches, you can always make a tasty chicken liver pâté with vegetables and butter. Sandwiches are a universal quick meal, and I can't bring myself to call them fast food. Chicken liver pâté sandwiches with a glass of tomato juice make a great breakfast, or you can pack a lunch box when you're rushing off to work: quick, filling and very tasty.

Pâté is generally understood as a ground mixture or filling made from game, offal, eggs and mushrooms with various spices. It is made in a special way, and the technique differs from other similar dishes. Liver is the most common ingredient for pâté. The result can be beef liver pâté, chicken liver pâté or one of the most famous, foie gras pâté, made from the liver of specially fattened geese.

When making chicken liver pâté, the liver pieces are fried in butter and then braised with vegetables until no liquid is left, after which the cooled mixture is ground and pushed through a sieve. Very often the finished pâté is blended with butter, which makes the chicken liver appetizer very smooth and tasty, and also raises its calorie content. You only need a little pâté for a sandwich, so the sandwich itself is not too high in calories.

Pâté can be made from more than meat or offal. There are many spreads that are not called pâté but serve the same purpose and are usually used for sandwiches. Examples are the cod liver toasts we often make for festive tables, or fish and tomato appetizer with vegetables, which is delicious with lightly toasted bread.

Chicken liver appetizer in the form of pâté is a simple dish that keeps for a while in the fridge. Just spread it on a slice of bread, and you have a snack or even a tasty breakfast. Add a slice of boiled egg, a sprig of parsley and a slice of cucumber, and you get gorgeous chicken liver pâté sandwiches.

Chicken liver is sold in almost any store, loose or packed in trays. Butter and vegetables, usually affordable root vegetables, are in every fridge, so making liver pâté is no trouble at all. The key is not to rush: the vegetables should braise until soft and then cool completely. At the final stage, all the ingredients are puréed and mixed with butter, which can be tricky with warm or hot pâté.

More with meat

Beef Tongue in AspicBeef tongue in aspic the homemade way: tongue simmered with roots and spices, sliced and set in clear jelly from its own stock. Step-by-step with photos.

Kholodets (Meat Aspic) from Pork Trotters and BeefClassic Ukrainian kholodets: pork trotters, hock and beef simmered for hours with roots and spices, set into a firm meat aspic without gelatin. Serve with horseradish.

Beef and Turkey Aspic (Kholodets)Clear beef and turkey aspic without gelatin: a rich beef shank stock, tender turkey fillet and an easy way to clarify the stock with egg whites.

Oven-Roasted Pork Belly with Garlic and SpicesUkrainian-style pork belly studded with garlic, rubbed with freshly ground spices and roasted in the oven until sizzling. A classic snack with fresh bread.

Beef FajitasBeef fajitas in 45 minutes: seared strips of beef with colorful bell peppers, onion, garlic and chili, served with warm wheat tortillas and salsa.

Ingredients

8-10 servings

Chicken liver 0.5 kg
Onion 1
Carrot 1
Celery stalk 1-2
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Butter 100 g
Salt, black pepper, herbes de Provence to taste

Step-by-step recipe

Cook modeKeeps your screen from turning off while the recipe is open

If you can buy chicken liver that has never been frozen, that's the best option. When thawed, this delicate product can leak and lose its juices. The cream pâté will hardly taste worse, but chilled liver is always available. Sort through the pieces, removing connective tissue, traces of bile and damaged spots. Rinse the chicken liver thoroughly under running water and drain in a colander. To make frying easier, you can cut each piece in half.
The pâté turns out soft, creamy and smooth if you braise the fried liver with vegetables that are not too coarse or fibrous. Any soup roots of your choice work well: carrot, celery root, parsnip. Onions are good too, as are juicy vegetables such as celery stalks and even rhubarb. For a stronger flavor, add a little garlic or, if you like, some fresh hot pepper. The liver is fried in butter, and the finished pâté is also mixed with softened butter.
Frying the ingredients
Melt half of the butter in a frying pan. Place the chicken liver pieces in the hot butter and fry for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Fry the liver without flour, as you would for a warm liver salad with pears. Once one side is browned, carefully turn the pieces with a fork and fry for another 2 minutes.
Once the chicken liver pieces have changed color, you can stir them with a spatula as they fry. Fry the liver for another 4-5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Peel the onion and chop it finely. Add the chopped onion, stir and keep frying until the onion is soft and lightly golden.
Peel all the prepared vegetables. Grate the carrot and chop the garlic with a knife. Dice the celery stalk. Add all the vegetables at once. Season the liver and vegetables with salt and black pepper and add 0.5 tsp herbes de Provence, a dried blend of rosemary, basil, thyme, savory and so on.
How to braise the liver and vegetables
Pour 1.5 cups of hot water into the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pan with a lid. The simmer should be barely visible: the liver and vegetables should braise, not bubble. Meanwhile, take the second half of the butter out of the fridge to soften.
Braise the liver and vegetables for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. During this time the vegetables will soften and much of the liquid will evaporate. Then remove the lid and raise the heat to medium. Stirring often, cook off all the remaining moisture. The liver and vegetables should be “dry”, with no free liquid left.
How to purée the chicken pâté ingredients
Turn off the heat or take the pan off the stove. Let the pâté base cool to room temperature. Transfer the chicken liver and vegetables to a blender. Alternatively, you can grind everything in a meat grinder and push it through a sieve. An immersion blender is very handy for this. Purée the braised mixture as finely as possible, so the pâté becomes a smooth, thick, creamy mass. If needed, add more salt and pepper.
Add the remaining piece of softened butter to the mixture. Blend the pâté with the butter once more so everything is mixed as evenly as possible.
Put the container with the pâté in the fridge for a long time. It is said that long chilling gives pâté a particularly mellow and delicate flavor. The appetizer should chill for at least a couple of hours. It will firm up a little but will still spread perfectly on bread.
How to serve
If you plan to serve the appetizer at a festive table, pipe it neatly into a small serving bowl with a pastry bag before chilling. The pâté will keep its shape as it cools. If the pâté is for sandwiches, you can chill it in the same container you blended it in.
After chilling, serve the pâté in a small bowl garnished with sprigs of herbs, slices of lemon and cucumber, and pomegranate seeds, as you like. For sandwiches, have fresh bread or toasts ready. You can also scoop the pâté into balls on a plate and arrange bread slices and vegetable pieces around them, so everyone can build a sandwich to their own taste.

Made it? Rate this recipe

Thanks for rating! 📷 Tell us how it turned out

Recipe facts

Yield:	8-10 servings
Calories:	105 kcal per 100 g
Prep time:	30 mins
Cook time:	1 h 30 mins
Total time:	2 h
Category:	Snacks and Sauces › Meat, Fish and Poultry Appetizers
Cuisine:	European
Rating:	4.4 (1)