Lamb's Liver Páte

I'm a big fan of páte! It has become a bit of a Christmas tradition in our house to have it as a starter on Christmas Day with some Melba Toast. I used to just buy páte in the shop but it rarely tastes as strong as I like. One of the best things about making your own is that you can make it as strong (or mild) as you like. This is achieved simply by adjusting the ratio of butter to livers. I start off with a 1:1 ratio and adjust accordingly. More liver gives you a stronger taste while more butter will mellow it out a bit. This makes over a kilo of páte so feel free to halve the ingredients!

550g Lamb's Liver (or whichever liver you prefer)
550g of Salted Butter plus some for cooking
75ml of Irish Whiskey (I used Jameson)
3 cloves of Garlic (very finely chopped)
2 tbsp mixed Herbs (I used thyme, oregano and sage)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Melted Butter to seal

Notice how I dropped the match into the pan with the fright of almost losing my eyebrows!

1. Clean the livers before cutting away any membrane. Cook over a low heat in plenty of butter until cooked through. Cook over a low heat to avoid a crust forming on the outside. Add to a food processor.

2. Turn up the heat and add the whiskey to the pan. Allow to flame to burn off the alcohol before adding the garlic and herbs. Cook for one minute before scraping everything out of the pan and into the food processor. Add 100g of the butter and puree for a few seconds. Allow to cool for ten minutes.

3. Add the rest of the butter and puree to form a smooth paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put in one large or a few small dishes and cover with melted or clarified butter to seal. Serve with melba toast, some fleur de sel and a little chutney. Perfect as a Christmas starter.