Quick and easy

“Pâté is a mixture of cooked ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). Pâté can be served either hot or cold, but it is considered to develop its fullest flavor after a few days of chilling.”

A traditional country-style pâté  and a great staple to have in the fridge for everyone to help themselves to whenever they want. Inspired to make Michel Roux Jr chicken and pork pâté with pistachios from his latest cookbook “The French Kitchen.”

You will need:

Meat:
3 boneless and skinless chicken pieces
100g chicken liver
180g minced pork
1 packet of streaky bacon or 1 packet of prosciutto

Filling:
1 lemon, grated
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
50g shelled pistachios, blanched then chopped
1 1/2 salt
Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Begin blanching the pistachios in a pan of boiling water for a minute or more, once done, drain the water and leave it to cool aside. Chop all the shallots, sprigs of thyme, pistachios and grate the lemon. With the meats, cut each chicken slices into smaller length way strips, trim the liver into rough small pieces. In a bowl, add the minced pork, trimmed chicken liver, lemon zest, thyme, shallots, pistachios. With your hands, thoroughly mix the filling before adding salt and pepper. To check whether it’s well seasoned, pan fry a small piece of the meat filling to taste. Line your tin with overlapping streaky bacon, making sure it is completely covering the tin, make sure it is also hanging over the edges. Press in half the mince mixture into the tin before adding in the slices of chicken, then covering with the rest of the mince. Fold over the bacon to encase the filling. The method of cooking the pâté in a bain marie. Place a big deep tray underneath the pâté tin and gently halfway filling it with boiling hot water. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the mould. Check that the pâté is done by piercing the centre with a knife. There shouldn’t be any trace of blood, if there is, it means you’ll need to bake it for an extra couple minutes. Once the juices run clear, gently take the pâté out of the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature before chilling it overnight in the fridge. To serve, turn out the pâté out of the mould tin and serve it in slices with pickled onions or gherkins, toast and salad.