10 Minute Chicken Liver Pate

This week's recipe is very easy to make indeed. The total preparation time is only about ten minutes. Chicken liver pate may not be the healthiest food you can eat as it is high in fat, but if eaten in small quantities it makes an excellent starter dish or light snack.

Ingredients

• 300-400g chicken liver
• 200g butter
• Dried mint leaves
• Black pepper, salt, garlic
• Scotch whisky

Preparation

• Dice and lightly fry the chicken livers in half the butter
• Place in a food processor or blender with the remainder of the butter and blend until a smooth paste
• Add a generous amount of ground black pepper, some salt, garlic, the dried mint and a shot of Scotch
• Stir well, transfer to a glass or porcelain dish and refrigerate until firmly set

John's Notes
The wonderful thing about pate is that you can make an endless variety of different flavours. I flavoured mine with mint because it is one of my favourite herbs; you could use your own favourite herbs or spices. The Scotch whisky is optional but it serves two purposes. First, it richens the flavour and second, it acts as a mild preservative. This recipe makes rather a lot of pate so unless you are making it for a party you might end up with it in your fridge for several days.

You can serve pate on lightly toasted soldiers (narrow strips of sliced bread) or with your favourite crackers. I served mine on McVities Butter Puffs. To make a party platter, finely dice some red and green bell peppers, celery, English cucumber and cherry tomatoes, then place a teaspoonful of veggie mixture on top of the pate on crackers. Line the platter with large lettuce leaves for a nice presentation.