The Punchbowl's Chicken Liver Pate

Ingredients

450g butter, softened
675g chicken livers, cleaned
2 tbsp Cognac
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp thyme leaves

Method
1. Melt a knob of the butter in a large frying pan and add the chicken livers. Cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the livers are fully cooked - there should be no trace of redness in the meat but you don't want a crust to form on the livers which would make the pâté grainy.

2. Allow to cool then transfer them to a food processor.

3. Add the cognac, garlic and thyme to the frying pan and deglaze by scraping up all the tiny pieces of meat and juices from the livers using a wooden spoon - the bottom of the pan is where the real flavour is!

4. Add the cognac mixture together with the remaining butter to the food processor and blend with the livers until smooth. Leave to cool.5. Serve with some hearty bread and fruit chutney.

Recipe supplied by Jason Armstrong. The Punchbowl
www.punchbowl-churchtown.co.uk
Tel 01995 603360