Chicken Liver Pâté

Europe is famous for making pâté. There are many kinds of pâté, like the expensive goose pâté. Vietnamese people love pork liver pâté accompanied with a baguette and is famous in Vietnamese sandwich shops around the world. Also pâté is a good snack on top of crackers and cheese. I like to make simple pâté using chicken livers. The procedure used here is from a French cookbook. I changed some ingredients and added some spices for my own taste. Liver is a good source of iron, and pâté is a wonderful way to add iron into your diet.

Ingredients:
1 ½ to 2 lbs. of chicken livers (container sold in most groceries)
1 cup milk (skim or regular)
1 hard boiled egg, peeled
1 stick butter
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
1 cup chopped onions
2 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup cognac or 1/2 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
1 ½ tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions:
Wash and clean the chicken livers well. Soak livers in milk with 1/2 tsp salt for a few hours. Remove and drain.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, add 2 tbs of melted butter and heat until hot. Add onions, shallots, garlic, and both fresh herbs. Stir and cook until fragrant.

 Add chicken livers. Cook for 5 minutes and add cognac.

 Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Cook until chicken livers are no longer pink, and all the cognac is absorbed.

Carefully put chicken livers and egg in to a food processor and blend with half of the melted butter until smooth.

Remove pâté and place in a container. Pour the remaining melted butter on top. Cover and chill for few hours or overnight. The pâté will remain fresh for a week in the refrigerator.