Creamy Chicken Liver Pâté

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (750g) chicken livers (cleaned and trimmed)
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 2 Granny Smith apples (peeled and chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 6 tbsp butter (softened)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   Sear the chicken livers in a large frying pan set over medium-high heat. I like to cook the chicken livers in avocado oil but you can use butter too.

2. 2

   Do this in batches to prevent over-crowding the pan - you want a nice deeply golden crust on the chicken livers. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. 3

   Sauté the onions, apples and garlic with the thyme in the same pan, scraping up any of the sticky bits left behind from the chicken livers (this is a huge flavor boost).

4. 4

   Cook until soft and golden then add the chicken livers and any of their resting juices back into the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

5. 5

   Add the brandy and (carefully) flambé, allowing the alcohol to burn off. Alternatively, simply let the mixture simmer for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to cook off.

6. 6

   Transfer the liver mixture to the bowl of a food processor (you can use a blender too) and add the cream. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

7. 7

   Add the softened butter, one tablespoon at a time, blending until the chicken liver pâté is very smooth. At this stage, I often like to pass the pâté through a strainer but this is not a necessary step. It does give you a must smoother end result, of course, but not a step home cooks should feel obliged to do.

8. 8

   Transfer the pâté to ramekins (this recipe makes a generous amount of pâté. I used 3 large ramekins but you could do 6 smaller ramekins or make one large dish if you preferred).

9. 9

   Pour over melted butter then add a sprig of thyme. Set in the fridge for at least 2 hours but ideally overnight.

10. 10

    Serve with crackers or crostini with preserves. I like tomato and chilli preserves but most preserves will be delicious.