Chicken Liver Porcini Pâté with Pistachios

What do you think of when you hear the word chicken liver? I am sure there is a wide spectrum of responses. I grew up eating pâté in delicious banh mi sandwiches without ever knowing that what I was really eating was liver, which is probably why my response to this question falls towards the favorable end of the spectrum.  For the holidays I made a luxurious pâté from Nikki Stitch's cookbook Delicious Days. Nikki is a food blogger and cookbook writer in Germany who will be releasing a new book soon. I've cooked through most of the recipes in Delicious Days, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store in the next book.

This recipe calls for chicken liver that is sauteed in butter and country aromatics, blended with more melted butter and sweet ripe Marsala wine for lusciousness, and mixed with pistachios to integrate a nuanced texture to the silky smooth pâté. The result is an exquisite spread worthy of a prominent spot at the holiday table. Pair with a freshly baked crusty baguette and this is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

If you have time to choose your liver, Jacques Pepin recommends selecting paler specimens which are richer and mellower in flavor. 

Chicken Liver Porcini Pâté with Pistachios

From Delicious Days by Nicole Stitch

Ingredients

• 5 grams dried porcini mushrooms
• 200 grams chicken livers
• 75 grams butter
• 3-4 thyme sprigs
• 1 scallion
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Marsala
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons salted pistachios
• 3 tablespoons duck fat or butter

Method

1. Soak porcinis in hot water for at least 15 minutes, then squeeze the excess liquid out of them, and chop finely. 
2. Prepare the liver: Rinse the liver under cold running water in a strainer, and dry with a paper towel. Remove the sinews and membrane. Cut large livers in half. 
3. Melt 50 grams of butter in a small saucepan, and set aside to cool.
4. Rinse and dry the scallion and thyme. Plucking off the thyme leaves and set aside. Slice the scallion finely. 
5. In a small to medium saute pan, melt the remainder of the butter over medium heat until it foams. Saute the scallions until it is translucent. Add the thyme, prepared livers, and porcinis. Saute until the liver is cooked through, this should take roughly 6 minutes. Test for doneness by taking one of the larger pieces and cut through the middle, the center should be barely pink. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the Marsala. 
6. Allow the cooked liver to cool for a bit before proceeding to blending it in a food processor. Take care to avoid blending too finely. Stir in the cooled butter made in step 3, and the heavy cream. Coarsely chop the pistachios and mix about half of it into the pâté.  I tend to like more texture, so I add more than half. Fill the pâté in a small dish, cover and refrigerate for an hour.
7. Melt the duck fat or butter over low heat, and pour over the chilled pâté with a tablespoon. Evenly distribute the fat by carefully tilting the dish around so that it covers the pâté. Sprinkle the remainder of the pistachios, cover, and refrigerate for at least another hour. 

The pâté should keep well for at least four days.

Here is a picture of the snow that has been dumped in New York. I haven't been able to venture too far to see what else is going on in town – I'm afraid of slipping and falling, as many people have done over the last two days.  What I can tell you is that it has been interesting to see how much this snow has been able to bring the city that never sleeps to a screeching halt.