Pate, or more specifically liver, is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. I understand that liver is not the most glamourous of foods, nor is it super popular to eat, but if you are looking to optimise your health give this recipe a try.
Pretty much every pate recipe I have ever come across uses butter, I mean this is the traditional way of making it so of course they would be like that. And whilst I think butter is a great source of butyrate needed for our gut health, there are many out there that unfortunately cannot tolerate dairy products or are on a therapeutic diet which temporarily removes it from their diets. So I have swapped out the butter for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The depth of flavour from many traditional pate’s come from the inclusion of garlic and onion. Now so many of my clients struggle with both of these foods when they come to see me, so to allow them to enjoy the benefits of pate I have used garlic infused extra virgin olive oil and the green parts of shallots to bring the flavour without the bloating and discomfort. Cooking the shallots in the pan juices with the sage over low heat allows the flavours to infuse providing the most wonderful base to this pate.
Without the diary, garlic and onion from your traditional pate, you can see how this pate is one your gut will love!
So why is liver such a powerhouse for your health? Well animal livers operate in a similar way to our own, everything in the body passes through them before being shunted off to the correct place. In doing this, the liver stores some of the vitamins and minerals that pass through it. So when you eat liver you are quite literally consuming a storage house filled with an abundance of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and fats all in one – the ultimate multivitamin!
The liver is also a dextoxification organ and it can store some of these toxins as well as those nutrients. So I cannot stress enough to purchase organic liver. You want to know that the livers you are buying are not filled with chemicals or hormones…
Whilst I do eat meat I like to do so in an ethical way – local, pasture raised and nose to tail. It does help that I was raised by parents who also embraced nose to tail eating so we often had organ meats on the table. So for me the concept of eating liver or pate is not stepping outside of the box to what I would normally eat.
If this is you I really encourage you to give this pate a go. It is a true powerhouse for of nutrients for your body. And I always say you can’t screw your nose up and say you don’t like it until you have at least tried it…
I’ve shown the pate here just spread on some toast with goats cheese crumbled across the top which is a yummy way to enjoy it – or on crackers. But I also highly recommend it with scrambled eggs or dolloped on a warm salad such as Roasted Kale and Cauliflower or Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea + Quinoa.
What Do I Need?
- 700g of Organic Lamb Liver
- 2 Tablespoons of Garlic Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 2 tablespoons of Sage Leaves
- 4 Shallots, green part only, finely sliced
- 3 anchovies
- 2/3 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- Salt + Pepper to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil to cover pate
Let’s Do This!
1. Cut your liver into 1cm thick slices, removing any white sinew and cartilage from the livers. Rinse liver under cold water and drain well.
2. Place the Garlic Infused EVOO in a large fry pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the liver and cook for a few minutes on each side, lightly browning the outside but keeping some pinkness in the middle. Once cooked remove from the pan, retaining as many of the juices in the pan as possible. Pop your cooked liver in your processor or blender and set aside.
3. Move your pan over a very low heat and add the Now add to the pan the sage, anchovies and shallots with the pan juices. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the shallots have really softened.
4. Scrape all the goodness from pan into your processor/blender with your liver and the remaining 2/3 cup of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until all the liver has broken down and combined with the oil and pan juices.
5. Spoon pate into wide mouthed glass container or jar and cover it with EVOO, pop the lid on and place it in the fridge to cool. Personally I recommend having a little before it goes in the fridge – so yummy! And then leave it overnight for the flavours to develop
This pate will last in the fridge for 4 -5 days. If you have any leftover at this stage, portion it up and pop it in the freezer.
NOTE: I like a rustic pate, it you would like your creamier and the blender you used didn’t give you that consistency you can push the blended pate through a sieve.