Chicken Liver Pate

This post may not be pretty but I promise it is yummy.  Clara was completely straight faced as she watched me handle the livers, here she is mashing together a bit of cloves, fresh nutmeg, all spice and cinnamon for the recipe.   

Last Spring I enrolled in an online cooking course for reversing food allergies and chicken liver pate is now one of my favorite dishes.  Cooking with liver was definitely outside my comfort zone so it was nice to have the online support of the cooking class, I may have never otherwise tried it.  I'm glad I tried it because it was simple to make, is dense with nutrients and tasted delicious.

So if you have the guts.....start with 1 lb. chicken livers.  I get my from our cow share farmer who pasture raises her chickens and does not feed them GMO feed.  I probably wouldn't make this with just any chicken liver, find a good source, in the near future I hope to be raising our own.  Here's what they look like:

  

Be sure to rinse them, pat them dry and cut off any veins or extra fat.  After that put them in a food processor with 1 large egg and process for about 30 seconds.  Meanwhile melt 1/2 cup butter in the food processor (good pastured butter), let it cool a bit then add it to the mix along with 2 tsp Celtic sea salt, a bit of pepper and a pinch of the spice mixture mentioned above.  Pour into well greased ramekins and place in a baking dish filled half way up with warm water (like baking a flan).  Bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Let cool and chill over night or serve at room temperature with crackers.  I did not have crackers on hand so I used a romaine leaf and it tasted great!  

George ate it by the spoonful and finished off half a ramekin, this growing boy probably needed it.

Not everyone was eager to try it though.  When I consulted with Eva's mother about making this she gave me some really good advice.  She said make it as a very special dish just for yourself and when the kids see how much you are enjoying it they may ask for a taste........but only give them a little taste and remind them it is a special treat you made for yourself.  Eventually they may actually beg for it and you will eliminate the step of having to beg them to eat it.