Venetia's Sauternes Jelly post made me think about pâtés and terrines. I love Foie Gras (apart from animal rights activists, who doesn't?), but in this country, it's just so darn expensive.
Here's a worthy substitute. Okay, it doesn't taste exactly the same, but I think the finished result is super smooth, and melts on the tongue.
This is how I make it: Get hold of 300g fresh chicken livers, cut them up into pieces and remove all the skin and the fat. Soak them in cognac for an hour or so.
Next, flash fry them in goose fat. This means frying them quickly, so that the outside of the liver goes brown, but the inside remains pink. This will help the pate to remain smooth.
Saute three chopped shallots in goose fat until they are are soft. Whizz up the cooked livers, shallots, a crushed garlic clove, and the juice of half a lemon in your Magimix (or blender), until you have a smooth paste. You will now need to mix in some fat. I use about half a packet of melted unsalted butter, and a tin of goose fat. This sounds like a scary amount, but remember that goose fat is an unsaturated fat, and is, apparently, rather good for you. The technique's a bit like adding oil to make mayonnaise. I recommend that you add the melted butter (which you've left to cool down) and the goose fat very, very slowly- to avoid curdling. Look- it probably will curdle, but strangely enough, even if it does, your pate will still be extremely smooth once set. Trust me on this. Carry on whizzing your machine the whole time as you pour in the butter and fat, and try and get the mixture to become as smooth as you possibly can.
Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Next, push the mixture through a sieve, and gently fold in two tablespoons or so of double cream.
Pour the finished pate into small ramekin dishes and leave to set in the 'fridge. When the pate's firm, sprinkle the top with sugar, and use a kitchen blow-torch to caramelise the sugar. You don't want the sugar to burn, but instead, to bubble up and turn a golden brown colour. Serve with Melba Toast, Chutney, or Sauternes Jelly.
