Chicken Liver Parfait

According to my my good friend Steve, calling this recipe chicken liver parfait makes me a pretentious wanker. "Why can't you call it pâté like everyone else?" he sneers.

"Because mine's smoother and silkier. It's an altogether more refined mouth-feel than a common pâté." I reply. At this point he raises a single smug eyebrow, as if his point has been proven.

Anyway, how can parfait be more pretentious than pâté? The word pâté has âccénts decorating every vowel. That's pretentious - and a complete pain in the arse to type.

Homemade parfait, pâté, whatever, is simple to make and so much more satisfying than the store-bought goo that's cut with thickeners and preservatives. And cooking with offal means you're putting more of the animal to good use, so win- win.

This recipe makes enough for about four small jars so you can give some away, or, if you're a fan of gout, eat it all yourself.

Chicken Liver Parfait

~ makes enough for three or four 200g jars ~

Ingredients

400 gm chicken livers - plus one extra lobe of liver for your half-time cooking snack.

200g butter, diced

50g butter for sealing the parfait

half a large white onion, finely diced

two cloves of garlic, finely grated or chopped

50ml single cream

1 tsp salt (if you're using unsalted butter, add another half tsp salt)

150ml white wine

1tsp dried tarragon

30ml brandy

1tsp dried tarragon

1tsp freshly ground black pepper

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Liver 'nother day

You'll be cooking these livers medium-rare, so they need to be super fresh. When you're buying them, check they're a lewd glossy mauve. If they're greying or have a greenish sheen, keep walking.

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Method

In a small pan, bring the white wine and tarragon to the boil and reduce by about half. Strain it and discard the tarragon leaves.

Trim your chicken livers, cutting away the sinews, tubes and any discoloured spots. Slice each liver in half, separating the two distinct lobes.

Melt a few tablespoons of your butter in a pan. Add the diced onion and garlic and gently fry until the onion has just started to colour.

Add the livers to the pan and cook on a medium heat until they've just browned. Don't overcook them; you want them pink in the middle.

Now add the reduced wine and the brandy, stirring for a few seconds until everything's bubbling.

Add the cream, salt and black pepper.

Stir until the butter has melted and the liquids have unified. Let it all come to a gentle bubble before you take the pan off the heat.

With a slotted spoon, remove the livers and allow them to cool - out of the liquid - on a plate. If you blend the livers and the liquid while it's all steaming hot, the livers will lose their pinkness and the parfait won't be as bright and silky.

At this point in the process I always treat myself to a little amuse-bouche (Pretentious? Moi?) of a plump, hot lobe of liver with a little sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon. You could make a decent meal of this with a rocket and pear salad on the side and some crusty bread to soak up the juices... but not today. Today we make parfait.

When the liquid is cool enough for you to dip your finger (clean please) in it for a few seconds, it's ready to blend. Blitz it until you have a silky smooth mixture.

Pour the mixture into clean jars. Holding each jar flat on the kitchen bench, give them a little side-to-side jiggle to even out the surface of the parfait. You can use a rubber spatula or the back of a wet spoon to smooth it out.

In a small pan, melt the 50g of butter you set aside for sealing. Pour a thin layer over the surface of each parfait. Let the jars cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge to set.

Serve with crusty fresh bread and a few cornichons or some Quickled Onions.

The parfait should be good for three or four days - if you don't eat it all in one gout-inducing sitting.