Recipes

Chicken Liver Parfait

Henrietta Green

“It’s like a pâté, only richer and smoother…”

Chicken Liver Parfait Recipe

Serves 6-8

Each Christmas, since I have been running Charcuterie Awards, I’ve bought British-made charcuterie as presents. Most people still can’t believe we are able to produce such exquisite flavours and textures – I love to prove them wrong!

For years though, I used to make my own, a Chicken Liver Parfait, in huge quantities to give to eager family and friends so my fridge ended up packed with jars and containers of varying sizes for giving away. It’s like a pâté, only richer and smoother, and this is a scaled-down version for just a couple of jars but, providing you seal the parfait with butter, it will last about a week and, it follows, the longer you leave it, the more mellow and richer the flavours become.

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

Method

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.
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.
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.
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).
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.

Further Information

“London’s largest homelessness charity, The Passage, is commemorating World Homeless Day with the publication of A Taste of Home, a beautifully presented cookbook which highlights 40 years of the charity’s invaluable work, supporting those who are street homeless."

The cookbook which comprises of 40 first courses, 40 main courses and 40 desserts includes contributions from Henrietta Green*, Mary Berry, Gino D’Acampo, Stephen Fry, Nadiya Hussain, Sir Paul McCartney, Rick Stein, Yotam Ottolenghi, Vogue Williams & Spencer Matthews and many more.

“All proceeds from the book will be donated to The Passage to help London’s homeless.”

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