Pechinkovyi Pashtet (печінковий паштет, liver pâté)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide heavy pan
• •A food processor or fine sieve
• •A shallow serving bowl or 3 small jars

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim the liver

   Look over the livers carefully and trim away sinew, dark clots, and any greenish patches, which taste bitter. Pat them dry so they touch the pan properly instead of swimming. Salt them lightly with a pinch from your measured salt and leave them while you start the onions.

2. 2

   Sweat the sweetness

   Warm the sunflower oil and 30g butter in a wide pan, then add the onions, carrot, bay leaf, and a good pinch of salt. Keep the heat low and let everything slump slowly until the onion is translucent, the carrot has softened, and the pan smells sweet instead of raw. Add the garlic for the last minute only, just until it loses its sharpness.

   This little zasmazhka, the slow-sweated flavour base, is what keeps the pâté from tasting flat. Browned onion will shout over the liver; soft onion and carrot make it round.
3. 3

   Cook the liver

   Add the livers to the pan with the allspice, black pepper, and remaining salt. Let them take color on one side, turn them, then pour in the broth or water and scrape up the pan juices. Cook gently until the centers are no longer bloody and the smell has changed from metallic to nutty and savoury. If you check with a thermometer, poultry livers should reach 74C, then come off the heat at once.

   Overcooked liver goes chalky, and no amount of butter will fully hide it. The safe center and the tender texture can live together if you stop as soon as the raw smell is gone.
4. 4

   Blend with butter

   Remove the bay leaf. Tip the warm liver, vegetables, and every drop of pan juice into a food processor. Blend until the big pieces disappear, then add the 120g cold butter cube by cube, letting each piece vanish before the next goes in. The paste should turn lighter, smoother, and glossy, like it has taken a deep breath.

   No processor is not a tragedy. Mince everything very finely, then push it through a sieve while warm. It takes more elbow, but the old kitchens managed.
5. 5

   Taste and pack

   Taste while it is still soft, because cold dulls salt. Add more salt or pepper if it tastes shy. Spoon the pâté into a shallow bowl or several small jars, press it down to remove air pockets, and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

6. 6

   Seal and chill

   Pour the 30g melted butter over the top in a thin cap, tilting the bowl so it reaches the edges. Cover and chill until firm, at least six hours and better overnight. The butter cap keeps the surface from darkening and tells everyone there is something good under it.

7. 7

   Serve the table

   Take the pâté from the fridge twenty minutes before serving so it softens enough for a knife to drag through. Finish with chopped dill and black pepper. Serve with rye bread and something sour: cucumbers, kvasheni pomidory, or any honest pickle from the shelf.

Chef Tips

• •Chicken liver gives the smoothest, mildest pâté. Pork or beef liver is sharper and more old-school; slice it thin, soak it in milk for thirty minutes if it smells fierce, then dry it very well before cooking.
• •The onions and carrot forgive an extra few minutes. The liver does not forgive neglect. Stay near the pan and use your nose: once the coin smell is gone, move.
• •For a softer family-table version, blend in two peeled hard-boiled eggs with the liver. It is a bit more old-fashioned, less silky, very good on black bread.
• •Keep pâté refrigerated and eat it within three to four days. For pregnant guests, older guests, or anyone with immune concerns, use the thermometer and cook the poultry livers to 74C.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the pâté at least six hours ahead so it can set. Overnight is better; the butter firms and the sweetness settles into the liver.
• •The butter cap helps it keep cleanly in the fridge for three to four days. Once the cap is broken, cover the surface tightly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g pâté, excluding optional bread and pickles)