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Chicken Liver Pate with Shallots

The most nutrient-dense food on the site, in the only form most people will actually eat it. Allow two hours to chill.

Snack

25

Serves 6

Chicken liver pate with sourdough

Ingredients

  • 250g/9oz chicken liver, trimmed
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 60g/2oz ghee or butter, plus about 20g/¾oz extra to seal
  • 2 tbsp brandy or sherry, optional
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • Salt and black pepper
  • To serve: sourdough (or gluten-free bread or crackers if you avoid gluten) and cornichons (small gherkins)

Method

  1. Melt a third of the ghee in a pan. Cook the shallots gently for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and thyme for the last minute.
  2. Turn the heat up. Add the livers and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until there is no pink left in the middle when you cut the thickest one open and the centre reaches 70C/158F for 2 minutes. Do not leave them pink: chicken livers must be cooked all the way through to be safe. Take them off the heat as soon as they reach that point; any longer and they turn grainy. Overcooked liver turns grainy and bitter, which is why most people think they dislike it.
  3. Add the brandy if using and let it bubble for 30 seconds.
  4. Tip everything into a blender with the remaining ghee. Season generously and blend until completely smooth.
  5. Press into a small dish, smooth the top, and pour over a thin layer of melted ghee to seal.
  6. Chill for at least two hours. Keep it covered in the fridge and eat within 2 days. Not suitable if you are pregnant (see the note below).

Why it works

Nothing else on this site comes close to liver for nutrient density. A single portion covers your vitamin A and B12 requirements several times over, and delivers substantial haem iron, folate and choline.

Haem iron matters specifically. It absorbs far better than the iron in plants, which makes liver one of the most effective foods for a woman with heavy periods and falling ferritin.

The choline deserves a mention because almost nobody talks about it. Most people fall short of adequate intake, and it is involved in liver function and, during pregnancy, in foetal brain development.

The technique point is not incidental. Liver overcooked becomes grainy and develops the metallic bitterness people remember from childhood. Taken off the heat as soon as they are cooked through, blended with ghee, it is smooth and mild.

One caution. Liver is extremely high in vitamin A, which accumulates. Once a week is plenty, and pregnant women are advised to avoid it entirely for that reason. The NHS also advises avoiding all pate during pregnancy because of the risk of listeria.

More on nutrient density: foods that support testosterone.