Chicken Liver Parfait

To celebrate our partnership with British Charcuterie Live, we’re sharing this Chicken Liver Parfait recipe with you, created by the founder of the event, Henrietta Green.

For years, Henrietta would make this for eager family and friends as a gift. It’s like a pâté, only richer and smoother and, providing you seal the parfait with butter, it will last about a week. What’s more, the longer you leave it, the more mellow and richer the flavours become.

If you’re looking to serve this as a canapé, we recommend pairing it with our Original or Pink Peppercorn sourdough crackers. Otherwise, spread it on top of our Cracked Black Pepper Sourdough Crispbreads for a flavoursome lunch.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 250g unsalted butter
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 rashers of bacon, rind removed and chopped
• 500g chicken livers – connective tissue removed, cleaned and roughly chopped
• Handful of parsley, chopped
• Handful of rosemary, chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• Large slosh of brandy
• Large slosh of white wine
• 150ml double cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• Peter’s Yard Original Sourdough Crackers, Peter’s Yard Pink Peppercorn Sourdough Crackers, or Peter’s Yard Cracked Black Pepper Sourdough Crispbread

Method

1. In a heavy-based frying pan, heat the olive oil with 125g butter and add the onions, garlic and bacon. Cook over a low heat to soften, taking care not to let the onions brown.
2. Add the chicken livers, parsley, rosemary, orange zest and juice and cook for a few minutes. If the livers look like they might catch, just add another knob of butter.
3. Pour in the brandy and white wine and continue cooking for a few more minutes, depending on whether you like the livers still pink or well done, this could be anything up to a further 15 minutes. Just check how well done they are by piercing them with a sharp knife.
4. Remove from the heat and tip the contents of the pan into a liquidiser. Add another knob of butter and the double cream and whizz until smooth (the more of both you add, the richer the pâté but the looser its texture will be).
5. Season to taste, then pour into a suitable container. Leave to cool, then melt the remaining butter and pour over the top of the parfait to seal. Keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days to mature before serving.
6. Serve with Peter’s Yard sourdough crackers or crispbread.