I cooked this recipe for my latest radio show for InGoodTaste on ZoneOneRadio in London. It’s a great show – each week we interview someone fabulous and foodie and then in the second half I cook! This week’s show was all about offal – click here to listen. If you know me, you know that offal is something that I am hugely passionate about. I love the idea of using every part of the animal, nose to tail, and leaving nothing to waste. Making the ordinary, the humble extraordinary.
I chose this recipe because I wanted to do something that would be accessible to the general public and that wouldn’t scare them away. Everyone has had chicken liver pate; probably at some ghastly 90’s-esque reception. And so I chose to work with chicken livers to showcase offal.
I think this recipe really works. The chicken livers are crisp on the outside and melt into delicious, iron-deep molten cores. The sweet white onion puree is probably one of the finest things I’ve ever cooked. Based on a Monica Galetti and Angela Hartnett recipe (merged), I have featured it on this site before (here) and it never lets me down. It adds a lovely sweetness to the dish and moisture. The parfait puree is deep and rich – but with lots of lemon juice in it and cream it isn’t cloying, like a normal parfait. Even so – you don’t want too much of it – it’s just to add depth of chicken liver flavour to the dish. Exquisite little pickled mushrooms bring acidity and cut through the fat of the rest of the plate and the crispy chicken skin gives texture.
I really like it as a main and it is a little bit different. Give it a go and am sure you will like it as much as me and my guests did. And you never know – maybe it will convert you to being as much of an offal fiend as me!
I chose this recipe because I wanted to do something that would be accessible to the general public and that wouldn’t scare them away. Everyone has had chicken liver pate; probably at some ghastly 90’s-esque reception. And so I chose to work with chicken livers to showcase offal.
I think this recipe really works. The chicken livers are crisp on the outside and melt into delicious, iron-deep molten cores. The sweet white onion puree is probably one of the finest things I’ve ever cooked. Based on a Monica Galetti and Angela Hartnett recipe (merged), I have featured it on this site before (here) and it never lets me down. It adds a lovely sweetness to the dish and moisture. The parfait puree is deep and rich – but with lots of lemon juice in it and cream it isn’t cloying, like a normal parfait. Even so – you don’t want too much of it – it’s just to add depth of chicken liver flavour to the dish. Exquisite little pickled mushrooms bring acidity and cut through the fat of the rest of the plate and the crispy chicken skin gives texture.
I really like it as a main and it is a little bit different. Give it a go and am sure you will like it as much as me and my guests did. And you never know – maybe it will convert you to being as much of an offal fiend as me!
Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 3):
For the fried chicken livers:
500g chicken livers
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper, pinch
flour
2 eggs
splash of milk
1 bottle of vegetable oil
Sweet white onion puree:
3 white onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 big tablespoons of butter
150 ml chicken stock
salt and white pepper
nutmeg
glug vegetable oil
50ml milk
Chicken liver parfait puree:
250g chicken livers
90g butter
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
dash brandy (optional)
1 sprig thyme, stalks removed
100ml double cream
lemon juice, squeeze
Pickled Mushrooms:
100g mixed mushrooms – I like shimeji mushrooms – they are tiny and beautiful
100ml white wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 clove
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Crispy Chicken Skin:
5 x 4ish inch pieces of chicken skin – you only need 3 but make extra so you can pick the best pieces (and scoff the rest). Get this from your butcher or buy thighs and remove the skin from them.
salt
Special equipment: blender/food processor, 2 metal flat baking trays where one will fit into the other (to press the skin between them), baking paper.
Method:
1. For the chicken skin: heat your oven to 180 celsius. Take your chicken skin, put it between sheets of kitchen paper and press to remove any moisture. Lay baking paper on one metal baking tray and lay the chicken skin out flat on top of the paper. Make sure there is no overlapping. Season the skin generously with salt – this will make it taste good but will also draw the moisture out of the skin as it cooks. Take the second baking tray and press on top the skin and put something heavy, like a metal skillet, on top of that. This presses the tray down, flattening the skin out and keeping it straight as it cooks! Place into the oven and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Check after ten to make sure it’s not burning. Remove from the heat when finished. When cooked the chicken should be golden brown and crisp so that it snaps and crunches when bent.
2. For the pickled mushrooms: add all the ingredients except for the mushrooms into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the mushrooms. Simmer for about 4 minutes for shimeji mushrooms, but increase to more like 8-10 for larger mushrooms. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the brine!! So simple! Serve when ready.
3. For the sweet white onion puree: Heat the oil in a big frying pan to medium and throw in the butter. Add the sliced onion and add a splash of the stock.
4. Cut a circle of greaseproof paper the same size as the pan and place over the onions, tucking the sides down. It keeps the steam trapped in and keeps your onions really moist and discourages them burning/colouring. Its French name is a cartouche. Reduce the heat to a low medium and cook like this for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring and adding more stock if it looks like its getting a bit dry and sticking. The onions should be utterly soft with hardly any colour to them.
5. Remove the cartouche, increase the heat to a medium. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the stock. Saute for about 10 minutes until the onions are more caramelised and the stock has reduced almost all away. The scent should be utterly intoxicating at this point.
6. Remove from the heat and put into a food processor. Add the milk, a pinch of salt, white pepper and a 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and blend until very smooth and creamy.
7. Pass through a very fine sieve to remove any solids/onion skins. Store the passed, lovely smooth puree in a bowl until later and leave to cool. You can reheat this later when it’s time to eat! Serve warm, not hot.
8. For the chicken liver parfait: heat a glug of vegetable oil and saute the white onion over medium heat for about 4 minutes until it has softened. Add the garlic and thyme and saute for another minute. Remove from the pan, add oil and a knob of the butter and turn the heat higher. Add the 250g chicken livers and fry, stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the livers are browned on all sides and are at about a medium rare – pink inside but not too bloody. Throw the onions and garlic back in and add the brandy and simmer for about 30 seconds while the alcohol burns off. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
9. Place into a blender, add the rest of the butter and the cream and blend until smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, taste for seasoning, adjust if needed. Pass through a sieve to remove the onion skins or any lumps. Set to one side. It shouldn’t be too thick or too runny. Set to one side until later. Serve this at room temperature.
10. For the chicken livers: Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan slowly until hot. Test to see if it is hot enough by dropping a breadcrumb in – when it sizzles it is hot enough. Keep the heat low and if it starts to smoke take it off the heat immediately.
11. Make a little coating station – fill one bowl with flour, season it with salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Fill another with the eggs and a splash of milk and whisk until combined.
12. Take the chicken livers and trim into bite sized pieces – about an inch big. Tip into kitchen paper and pat dry.
13. Dip into the egg wash and then into the flour and roll until evenly coated. Then lower carefully into the oil and deep fry until crispy and golden brown, about 3 minutes. The chicken livers should still be pink inside still. Fry in batches of 4-5 and don’t overcrowd the pan. Blot excess oil off with kitchen paper and season with a bit of salt.
14. Plate and serve!! Plate how you like but I quite like it like this: do a swirl of the heated white onion puree and a swirl of the chicken liver parfait puree too. Heap the chicken livers in a neat little pile in the middle of the plate, and slot a piece of the chicken skin in them so it has a bit of height. Place the pickled mushrooms around the outside of the plate like a beautiful little rock garden. Serve! Delicious with a good sweet white – like a German Riesling.
Ingredients (Serves 3):
For the fried chicken livers:
500g chicken livers
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper, pinch
flour
2 eggs
splash of milk
1 bottle of vegetable oil
Sweet white onion puree:
3 white onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 big tablespoons of butter
150 ml chicken stock
salt and white pepper
nutmeg
glug vegetable oil
50ml milk
Chicken liver parfait puree:
250g chicken livers
90g butter
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
dash brandy (optional)
1 sprig thyme, stalks removed
100ml double cream
lemon juice, squeeze
Pickled Mushrooms:
100g mixed mushrooms – I like shimeji mushrooms – they are tiny and beautiful
100ml white wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 clove
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Crispy Chicken Skin:
5 x 4ish inch pieces of chicken skin – you only need 3 but make extra so you can pick the best pieces (and scoff the rest). Get this from your butcher or buy thighs and remove the skin from them.
salt
Special equipment: blender/food processor, 2 metal flat baking trays where one will fit into the other (to press the skin between them), baking paper.
Method:
1. For the chicken skin: heat your oven to 180 celsius. Take your chicken skin, put it between sheets of kitchen paper and press to remove any moisture. Lay baking paper on one metal baking tray and lay the chicken skin out flat on top of the paper. Make sure there is no overlapping. Season the skin generously with salt – this will make it taste good but will also draw the moisture out of the skin as it cooks. Take the second baking tray and press on top the skin and put something heavy, like a metal skillet, on top of that. This presses the tray down, flattening the skin out and keeping it straight as it cooks! Place into the oven and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Check after ten to make sure it’s not burning. Remove from the heat when finished. When cooked the chicken should be golden brown and crisp so that it snaps and crunches when bent.
2. For the pickled mushrooms: add all the ingredients except for the mushrooms into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the mushrooms. Simmer for about 4 minutes for shimeji mushrooms, but increase to more like 8-10 for larger mushrooms. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the brine!! So simple! Serve when ready.
3. For the sweet white onion puree: Heat the oil in a big frying pan to medium and throw in the butter. Add the sliced onion and add a splash of the stock.
4. Cut a circle of greaseproof paper the same size as the pan and place over the onions, tucking the sides down. It keeps the steam trapped in and keeps your onions really moist and discourages them burning/colouring. Its French name is a cartouche. Reduce the heat to a low medium and cook like this for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring and adding more stock if it looks like its getting a bit dry and sticking. The onions should be utterly soft with hardly any colour to them.
5. Remove the cartouche, increase the heat to a medium. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the stock. Saute for about 10 minutes until the onions are more caramelised and the stock has reduced almost all away. The scent should be utterly intoxicating at this point.
6. Remove from the heat and put into a food processor. Add the milk, a pinch of salt, white pepper and a 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and blend until very smooth and creamy.
7. Pass through a very fine sieve to remove any solids/onion skins. Store the passed, lovely smooth puree in a bowl until later and leave to cool. You can reheat this later when it’s time to eat! Serve warm, not hot.
8. For the chicken liver parfait: heat a glug of vegetable oil and saute the white onion over medium heat for about 4 minutes until it has softened. Add the garlic and thyme and saute for another minute. Remove from the pan, add oil and a knob of the butter and turn the heat higher. Add the 250g chicken livers and fry, stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the livers are browned on all sides and are at about a medium rare – pink inside but not too bloody. Throw the onions and garlic back in and add the brandy and simmer for about 30 seconds while the alcohol burns off. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
9. Place into a blender, add the rest of the butter and the cream and blend until smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, taste for seasoning, adjust if needed. Pass through a sieve to remove the onion skins or any lumps. Set to one side. It shouldn’t be too thick or too runny. Set to one side until later. Serve this at room temperature.
10. For the chicken livers: Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan slowly until hot. Test to see if it is hot enough by dropping a breadcrumb in – when it sizzles it is hot enough. Keep the heat low and if it starts to smoke take it off the heat immediately.
11. Make a little coating station – fill one bowl with flour, season it with salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Fill another with the eggs and a splash of milk and whisk until combined.
12. Take the chicken livers and trim into bite sized pieces – about an inch big. Tip into kitchen paper and pat dry.
13. Dip into the egg wash and then into the flour and roll until evenly coated. Then lower carefully into the oil and deep fry until crispy and golden brown, about 3 minutes. The chicken livers should still be pink inside still. Fry in batches of 4-5 and don’t overcrowd the pan. Blot excess oil off with kitchen paper and season with a bit of salt.
14. Plate and serve!! Plate how you like but I quite like it like this: do a swirl of the heated white onion puree and a swirl of the chicken liver parfait puree too. Heap the chicken livers in a neat little pile in the middle of the plate, and slot a piece of the chicken skin in them so it has a bit of height. Place the pickled mushrooms around the outside of the plate like a beautiful little rock garden. Serve! Delicious with a good sweet white – like a German Riesling.
deskinning the thighs
crispy and delicious
hon and shiro shimeji mushrooms – beautiful
simmer
leave to cool in the brine
onion time
saute SLOW and long
blend
how beautiful is that. edible silk.
chicken-y time
saute up
blend and sieve
deep fry
mmm – crispy fried
time to plate
beauuutiful
i think the skin looks like a little sail!
