Amazing Pâté

Published May 1, 2014 | By Susan W Bosscawen

Amazing (believe it or not) Pâté

(but don’t tell’em what’s in it)

I confess I’ve never had pâté. I love liver and Betty was a big liver cooker. She’d fix fried calf liver, grits and English peas. That was her go-to liver menu.

Along with a plate of fresh carrots or onions, because Tom always wanted something fresh and crisp with his meal. “Honey, do you have anything green?” (Green meant raw.)

And corn bread, because Tom loves corn bread and could eat it every day. With syrup. Sorghum syrup, preferably. Or crumbled in a glass of buttermilk.

But, I never got into the use-it-for-hor d’oeuvres thing, like the fancy, smancy pâté de foie gras. Of fatted duck fame.

Here, in the south (of the US, not France), I’ve seen livermush or liverwurst at the grocery store and it didn’t look all that appetizing. So, I steered clear.

Then, I came across this recipe, tried it, changed it and liked it. In fact, it’s awesome. So awesome, I think you should try it. Just don’t tell your guests it’s liver. Tell them it’s beef. You won’t be lying.

Barefoot Pâté

serves 8+ as an appetizer

1 lb calf liver (partially frozen- dice into 1-2″ pieces)
3 boiled eggs, peeled
6 strips of bacon, diced
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 TB Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste
1 TB Sriracha sauce to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TB curly parsley, coarsely chopped

Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet on medium heat until well done, but not burned. Remove to a dish, don’t drain the grease.

Put onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the bacon grease still in skillet and saute until onions are translucent, about 25 minutes.

Add diced liver and cook until just done. You may need to add some coconut oil, if it appears dry. Don’t over cook. It gets dry. (And liver’s kind of dry to begin with.)

Add Balsamic vinegar, Sriracha sauce, and cayenne pepper. Stir well. My guy and I like things spicy, but go light on the peppery stuff, if you don’t. Add more or less, according to your taste.

Add cooked and seasoned liver mixture and boiled eggs to food processor and process until fine gravel. You can go as smooth as paste, but I prefer sort of a grits-sized blend.

Shape in serving dish in a nice rounded mound. Sprinkle on chopped parsley, then top with bacon bits.

Serve warm with veggies or crackers. I used fresh zucchini, cucumbers, baby bok choy and baby carrots, because that’s what was in the fridge. Radish slices, regular carrots, yellow squash, or jicama would also work well. Cut your fresh veggies so they’ll scoop or hold the pâté easily. Provide a spoon or two.

This is a close up so you can see that it’s kind of a soft gravel texture.

Dressed up in parsley and bacon, served in a nice dish with veggies, makes it look much better than just the brown mush. This is still warm. It’s nice cool, but firmer. Serve with a cute spreader. That little thing on top are the center few leaves of baby bok choy.

Baby bok choy is a good choice. Most people don’t eat it as frequently as they might squash or cucumbers, so it’s something new to try. They make great little lettuce-type wraps.