The Corkless Mind

Tag: Snack

  • Chicken liver pâté.

    Chicken liver pâté.

    Have you ever loathed a particular food for most of your life and one day experience said particular food and find that its actually quite tasty? Growing up, my mom used to fry up chicken livers in a sauce, I remember hating every morsel of any chicken liver dish ever(sorry mom) until as recent as a few years ago my soon to be brother in law, changed this deep rooted hatred into a new found food love with a chicken liver dish I would never forget. The dish was fairly simple in that it was served in a relish, yet packed a flavour punch that bowled over my tastebuds and changed my stance on chicken livers for the rest of my food filled existence.

    The chicken liver pâté is super easy to recreate at home and only requires a blender as special equipment. This recipe is adapted from a Woolworths Taste Magazine recipe.

    Ingredients:
    – 400g Chicken livers

    – 3 Tablespoons of Sherry/Brandy (I only had Port on hand)

    – 300g butter half melted and half cubed

    – 2 Shallots finely chopped

    – A few sprigs of Sage finely chopped

    – A few bay leafs

    – 2 Tablespoons of olive oil

    – 2 Garlic cloves finely chopped

    – 1/4 t nutmeg

    – Salt and pepper to season

    – 50g clarified butter

    – 2 bay leaves

    – 3-6 sage leaves

    Method:
    Fry the chopped shallots until translucent. Add the garlic and chopped sage and cook for 1 minute, set aside.
    In the same pan, increase the heat and add the chicken livers, cook 3 minutes on each side, the livers should be light and with a slight pink colour.

    Be cautious not to overcook, this changes the texture of the pâté to that of a grainy consistency. Pour in the sherry/brandy or in my case the port and cook for a further 2 minutes, the. Add the nutmeg and season to taste.
    In a blender, add the livers with the shallots, garlic and sage. Add the melted butter and blitz to combine. Add the cubed butter and blitz once more to a smooth consistency. Pour into a pâté dish or baking tin would do(just be sure to line with parchment first. Place the sage and bay leaves on top and pour the clarified butter on top. Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours.


    Serve on warm freshly baked bread rolls.

  • Chicken sausage rolls with a basil and pumpkin seed pesto.

    Chicken sausage rolls with a basil and pumpkin seed pesto.

    Last week whilst on holiday, and feeling quite famished, I wanted a greasy quick fix to keep the hunger pangs at bay. The area we stayed in was quite rural and had a lack of stores. So heading out to the nearest mall with a Woolies to stock up on snacks to last till we leave, I grabbed a chicken sausage roll on the go. Having never consumed a chicken one before, this one in particular was just so good! Which prompted me to conjure up my own recipe to make at home. 
    This recipe is really easy and super quick, and is ideal for making when you have unexpected guests over you want to impress with a shortcut tasty snack made in a jiff. 


    Chicken sausage rolls with a Parmesan, basil and pumpkin seed pesto. 



    Ingredients: 
    – 400g Chicken Mince 

    – Store bought Puff Pastry 

    – 2 eggs (one beaten for eggwash) 

    – 1 tsp of salt 

    – 1 Tbsp of Smoked Sweet Paprika 

    – 1 TbspGround cumin 

    – 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs 

    – A glug of olive oil to bind. 

    – 25g finely grated Grana Padano.


    Basil pesto: 

    – A handful of Basil leaves 

    – 4tbsp of olive oil 

    – Pinch of salt 

    – Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds 

    – 25g of finely grated Grana Padano.
    Method: 
    Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Begin to mix the salt, paprika, cumin with the chicken mince in a large bowl, then add a glug of olive oil, breadcrumbs and the egg. Mix until combined. Shape into balls and place in roasting dish to roast for 15 minutes. Once cooked, cool and set aside. Roll out the pastry and cut into rectangles. Place the chicken balls on top of the pastry and cover with Grana Padano, then close with the pastry and brush with egg wash. Bake on a roasting tray with parchment(I used my Silpat, which I find prevents soggy bottoms) for 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp. 
    For the pesto, in a pestle and mortar, grind the basil leaves, olive oil and salt. Toast a handful of pumpkin seeds in a pan for 2-3 minutes until nutty in smell and taste. Once cooled slightly, roughly chop the pumpkin seeds and add to the pesto. Add the Grana Padano, and a little olive oil if the mixture is too clumpy. Keep grinding until an almost runny consistency is what you’re left with. I did indeed leave mine chunky, for purposes of food photography, in my opinion it gave the photo a little more colour and character. 

    * I cooked the chicken mince first, before filling the pastry out of fear of undercooking*