Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Chopped Liver (or pate, what's the difference?)

One place I read said the main difference is the eggs! Well, anyway, here's an idea that MIGHT help you get a little liver down the tummies of your family! You can serve it as a spread on matzo crackers or as a dip with veggies.
This is easy and you can make it ahead and chill, or serve warm if you like.
It took me all of about 15 minutes to toss it together.
The traditional Jewish custom uses chicken fat and cracklings but I have no idea where to get that so I used rendered pork fat/lard and cracklings! :-)
Chop one medium onion and saute in pork fat, or rendered lard with a few cracklings.
(When using straight fat, and melting it down, it will 'make its own' cracklings.)
Toss in rinsed chicken livers (approx 1 lb) and brown slightly.
Add a dash of sherry and continue cooking on low for about 9 minutes while boiling 3 eggs.

Toss the 3 boiled eggs and cooked liver and onions in blender, salt and pepper to taste.
To make more of a "chopped liver", just pulse a few times. To make more of a pate or spread, blend well. Pate is often chilled and molded I think, but I served as a dip for veggies and a spread on matzos.
Chill or serve warm.
***
How did my family rate this?
Dh liked it very well- but he loves liver.
My 3 younger children will usually gobble up liver that's been breaded and fried, but they didn't care much for this, but they did follow the rules and ate a portion :-).
My older kids, who don't typically like fried liver, ate all that they were served of this with no complaints and told the younger children "its not bad".
I would love to make more of it sometime and add more seasonings and flavors to it, perhaps even something spicy and hot. One of the older children suggested blending in some sort of tomato, hmm...
Oh and- livers are very frugal! Chicken livers are a little over a dollar and this will serve us two days! ;-)

4 comments:

Joy said...

My husband loves them fried..me ummm I have never tried them and well I really don't think I will now either LOL
He loves gizzards too..

Donna said...

Ah good- if he will eat it, your kids will at least be more tolerant of it.....and as for me, I'm learning to eat it too, like a good girl! -gulp-

I want the vitamins A and D in it, so I'm determined to work it in somehow!! :-)

Millie said...

That looks very good. I'm impressed that the older kids liked it. I wish my older ones would like liver. I keep serving it and think one day maybe...

Donna said...

Millie,
I was shocked too, but very glad!
Have you seen those bbq meatballs that I made? If I grind the liver up and mix it with ground beef, I can get in small amounts unnoticed ;-)