How to Cook Chicken Liver Parfait
Serves: 6
Preparation time: over 1 hour
Cooking time: 40 mins
Ingredients needed to make Chicken Liver Parfait:
- 400 gms chicken livers, trimmed
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 3-4 fresh sage sprigs, leaves picked
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 pinch ground mace
- 1 small shot brandy
- 300 gms butter
- 1 punnet salad cress
- 1 French bread loaf
- Olive oil, as required
Cooking instructions for Chicken Liver Parfait:
- Warm up your oven to 225 degrees F.
- Add half of the butter into an ovenproof skillet and melt in the oven for about 10 minutes or until it separates to form yellowish clarified butter
- Pass it through a fine mesh sieve to strain into a bowl and allow it to cool to some extend’ throw away the milky residue.
- Drizzle a lashing of olive oil in another skillet and hear it over moderate flame.
- Toss the garlic as well as shallots into it and sauté for about 10 minutes at medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until they turn soft.
- Drain them out into a plate, using slotted spoon and wipe the skillet with a kitchen paper to get rid of the grease.
- Increase the heat and dump the chicken livers into it, along with most of the fresh herb sprigs.
- Cook one side of each liver for a couple of minutes or until it browns lightly but retains a pinkish tinge at the centre; avoid overcooking to retain their smooth texture.
- Add a splash of brandy into it and flambé over high heat, until the sizzles subside.
- Cook the liver in the sauce for a minute and transfer the mixture into a food processor, along with the sautéed shallot-garlic mixture.
- Pulse them together into a smooth puree and dump rest of the butter.
- Pulse once again until well blended and whisk in the ground, followed by a dash of seasonings.
- Spoon it into a large serving bowl and scatter the reserved sage leaves on top.
- Drizzle the clarified butter on top and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour to set.
- To serve, carve out thick slices from the bread and toast them on a hot griddle.
- Arrange them on a large serving tray, next to the bowl of chicken liver parfait and serve alongside a bed of trimmed cress.
- Spread the parfait across the bread and top it up with some of the cress.
- Tuck in!
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
