Duck & Portwine Pate

Welcome readers!

It has been an interesting, yet tiring week.

Following the last few weeks of indulgent foods, in a variety of shapes, sizes and forms, This week I have decided to indulge you with a favourite of mine. The well known luxury. known as Pate.

Pate can be a beautiful thing, full of flavour, a texture that appeals to almost every palate, and with a sense of richness that will leave even the most refined of appetites satisfied. That said, pate does not need to be a complex exercise. Beauty can be found in the simplest of arrangements.

Making pate should be a simple affair in my opinion. Too much "faffing" can in fact cause problems. To combat this things should be kept to a simple and straightforward process. The following recipe combines luxury ingredients (which can be obtained extremely cheaply in most circumstances), with a simple cooking, arrangement and construction philosophy.

I almost forgot to mention. It is extremely tasty.

(Makes approx 3 litres)

You will need:

1 lb Streaky Bacon (chopped)
3 lb Duck Liver
3 Cloves (Crushed) Garlic
1 lb Butter
3 sprigs rosemary
2 Sprigs of thyme
2 Large Onions (red)
3 Stalks of celery
2 large carrots
Approx 275 ml ruby port
Pinch Ground Cloves
Pinch Ground Nutmeg
1 tbsp Mixed Herbs
Pinch Cracked Black Pepper
3 Slices wholemeal bread.
1 small jar redcurrant jelly.

Equipment:

1 Large Baking Tin
Large Saucepan
Chopping Board
Knife you are comfortable with
Hand Blender

Chop the carrots, onion and celery into approx 1cm dice, into a mirepoix arrangement. Chop the butter into smaller pieces, and add the mirepoix and the butter to the roasting tin. Sprinkle the mixture with the mixed herbs, and the black pepper. Put the tin in the oven on a medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften.

Whilst the vegetables are cooking, in your saucepan combine the redcurrant jelly, port, rosemary
and thyme and allow to simmer whilst your vegetables are softening.

When vegetables are soft, remove the tray from the oven, add the liver, bacon and garlic, and stir the contents until evenly mixed. Return tray to the oven for approximately 20 min (until liver is cooked), stirring every 5 mins to ensure even cooking.

Once the liver is cooked, add the liver to the pan with the port and redcurrant, along with the bread (torn into smaller pieces) and using your hand blender, blitz the mixture into a paste.

Allow to stand for 30 mins, then decant the mixture into smaller containers. refrigerate for 6 hours at least.

Serve.