Baked chicken liver pate

I recently had a lovely dinner at the Savoy Cabbage in Cape Town - the starter being particularly extraordinary - Chicken Liver Parfait with Port Soaked Figs and Currant Toast.  The parfait was creamy, but light and the combination with the toast and figs really worked well.  So, I had to try my hand at making chicken liver pate at home and found an old recipe from notes from my course years ago at Elsa van der Nest's Culinary academy.  I served it with the Grape Schiacciata, and the combination worked very well. (Note - you will need a food processor and the pate must be made one day in advance)

5 shallots, finely chopped

240g fresh chicken livers

1 sprig of thyme

150ml dry Madeira, Port or brandy or a mixture of all

240g butter + 1 teaspoon

3 eggs

Start by washing the chicken livers, drain and then pat dry.  Sweat the shallots in the teaspoon of butter without colouring.  Add the alcohol and thyme, bring to the boil and reduce by four-fifths.  Set aside.  Melt the butter slowly.

Puree the livers in a food processor for 1 minute, then add the cooked shallot and alcohol mixture and pulse.  Add the eggs, and a pinch of salt and pepper and lastly the melted butter.  Blend for a few seconds until the mixture is thoroughly amalgamated.  Now strain the mixture through a sieve.

Pour the mixture into a greased loaf tin, then cover with a piece of greased greaseproof paper.  Place the loaf tin into a baking tray and fill the baking tray with boiling water to come two thirds up the sides of the loaf tin.  Bake at 150 degrees for 40 minutes.  Test with a knife, it should come out clean.  Cool and then refrigerate over night.

If you are not going to eat it all in one go, rather seal the top by pouring over some melted butter to preserve it.