French chicken liver pate, cornichons, and blue cheese butter with crunchy French baguettes are an award-winning appetizer.
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What is Pate?
Nestled within the heart of French cuisine is a dish that epitomizes sophistication and culinary finesse—the Country French Chicken Liver Pâté. This classic spread, with its velvety texture and rich flavors, has long been a staple on tables across France, showcasing the country’s dedication to the art of gastronomy.
Country French Chicken Liver Pâté is a harmonious blend of simple yet high-quality ingredients. Tender chicken livers take center stage, complemented by aromatic herbs, onions, and red wine. The result is a smooth, silky pâté that tantalizes the taste buds with its rich, savory goodness.
Making and Serving Country French Chicken Liver Pâté
The preparation of Country French Chicken Liver Pâté, with modern equipment, is very easy. The best tools for the job are a food processor and a stand mixer. Use the food processor to make a paste out of the cooked chicken livers, and a stand mixer to mix the paste with fresh butter. It’s well worth the effort.
Pate is often served with cornichons, which are a small pickle, also known as a gherkin. Cornichons are tart French pickles made from gherkins pickled in vinegar and tarragon. If you cannot find cornichons, a gherkin will do nicely. Some people do not like tart pickles so the small sweet ones are a great choice.
Serve the pate with water crackers. Water crackers are preferred over others as they have little flavor so they won’t fight with the pate. You can also serve the pate with a dish of Blue Cheese butter. A nice white wine, preferably French, would be a good accompaniment.
In the hustle and bustle of modern life, taking a moment to savor the refined pleasures of Country French Chicken Liver Pâté is a culinary indulgence worth embracing. The dish not only honors the time-honored traditions of French gastronomy but also invites you to slow down, appreciate the artistry of cooking, and relish the simple yet profound joy found in a well-crafted bite.
The award for Best Appetizer at the Fil-Am Kiwanis function went to yours truly for the Country French Pâté with Blue Cheese Butter Spread and Cornichons. I didn’t win for my Ultimate Sour Cherry Fudge Cake, but who cares, right? The Oreo truffles won, and they were truly fantastic!
Country French Chicken Liver Pate Recipe
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Chicken Liver Pâté
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound Chicken Livers
- ½ pound unsalted butter
- 2 small Garlic cloves
- ½ cup Onion
- ⅔ tablespoon Country Style Pate Spice
- ⅓ cup Red wine
Instructions
- Mise en place
- 1 pound Chicken LiversDry and clean chicken livers.
- 2 small Garlic cloves, 1/2 cup Onion, 1 tablespoon unsalted butterChop onion and garlic finely. Sweat garlic and onion in a little butter. Set aside.
- 1/3 cup Red wine, 2/3 tablespoon Country Style Pate SpiceSaute chicken livers. Add onion mixture. Add red wine and pate spice. Let cook down until almost all liquid is reduced.
- Place mixture in a food processor. Process and let cool.
- 1/2 pound unsalted butterCream butter separately until it is light and fluffy. A stand mixer is preferred, but a hand mixer will work.
- Fold in the cooled liver mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- At this point, you can put it into a nice bowl or crock. You can also roll it in wax paper.
- Chill the pate overnight. If you rolled it up, slice it for putting on toast. If you did not roll it up, it is advisable to let it come to just about room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Chicken Liver Pâté Spice Mix Recipe
This spice mix isn’t only for pate, it also makes a very good spice mixture for brining turkey.
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Chicken Liver Pâté Spice Mix
Equipment
If you purchase any of the products through these affiliate links, I get a few pennies that help keep The Good Plate open. I use these products myself and want you to be able to easily find them.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in clean coffee grinder and process. A mortar and pestle will also work.
Notes
Nutrition
Blue Cheese Butter Recipe
This blue cheese butter makes a great appetizer by itself. It’s also very impressive served on a grilled steak.
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Blue Cheese Butter
Equipment
If you purchase any of the products through these affiliate links, I get a few pennies that help keep The Good Plate open. I use these products myself and want you to be able to easily find them.
Ingredients
- ¼ pound unsalted butter, unsalted
- ¼ pound *Blue Cheese
- 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
Instructions
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter, 1/4 pound Blue Cheese, 1 teaspoon Herbs de ProvenceCombine all ingredients in a food processor and process. You can roll it or put it into a container at this point. It should be chilled in the refrigerator overnight. If you are going to slice it, do not bring it to room temperature, but if you are going to serve it from a container, then leave it out for a while before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Chicken Liver Pate Transcript
Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the Good Plate’s kitchen.
Today we’re making country French pate.
Let’s start adding this.
I’m just gonna add a little bit so you can see.
Here we go, it’s all in.
And see, we’re gonna put it on like one.
(mixer)
(mixer)
And it’s all together
(mixer)
I’m gonna scrape the bowl down, I’ll be right back.
There is our wonderful beautiful chicken liver country
Chicken liver pate from France.
And I’m going to have a bite.
That is a small gherkin.
These are traditionally served with cornichons,
which is a smaller version of sweet pickle.
And I’m gonna have one of these lovely guys right now.
I wish we could be here.
That is so good.
That is amazing, that is good.
Thanks for joining me.
See you next time on The Good Plate.
