Chicken Liver Pate

When I compiled my initial list of meats I used to love, this one popped into mind quite readily, which surprised me a little. It's an odd one, and not something I suspect many veggies would list as a favourite meat. Thinking about it, this has to be about school lunchboxes. Corned beef probably had to be to a large extent too, but I remember making corned beef hash at university. I can't remember the last time I had chicken liver pate, other than lunchboxes. (This also raised memories of small glass pots of fish and crab paste that I don't even know whether or not still exist. I'm definitely going to find out, because some of it's going on the list if it does.)

So there's a good chance we're going back 30 years for this one. My memory's not one of my strongest points, so this will be interesting to see if I've remembered this correctly.

I shopped around a bit, but couldn't find anything that leapt out at me in the local supermarkets, so ended up plumping for a tub of this chicken liver pate with brandy and cranberries from the folks who deliver my weekly veg box. I've just realised I should have tried one of the local delis, but I guess I've come to think of them as cheese shops over the years so it never occurred to me. I also could have tried a butcher's shop, but I think about shopping in the butchers about as often as I think about shopping in the hat shop (I own no hats).

Under the lid, it's a little browner than I remember pate being, but then since I'm remembering lunch-box fillings that's perhaps not surprising. Thinking about it, the pate I've seen in delis has often been very-nearly grey in colour, so this is looking pretty good in comparison.

Preparation-wise this one's going to be nice and simple again - it's getting whacked on top of a slice buttered wholemeal toast - like so:

First bite, then - scoff!

Oh my! That's really good. Really really good. I'm tempted to make the rest of the post the word "Nom!" in the largest font I can find, but that would be a bit of a cop out. But then I'm struggling to find the words to describe this, and in particular why I like it quite so much.

Let's have another bite. Yep! That's bloody lovely. It's rich and smooth and really tasty, and yet somehow understated too. Still struggling to properly describe this though.

So, I polish the lot off - and I'm still struggling. The best I can come up with is that it seems like a meat equivalent of a really good cheese in a way. It's got a richness that's filling my gob in the same way a cheddar would, but instead of the dairy creaminess it has a meaty equivalent. I've watched enough Masterchef to know that Greg Wallace would call it iron-richness, so I'll run with that. Regardless, it's complex and interesting, and basically right up my street. So I pop back to the fridge for another crack at it.

In conclusion, I'm clearly not very good at describing it, but I sure as hell like it a lot. This is going straight to number one in the league, which I'd never have guessed beforehand. What's more my brain is getting a gold star for remembering it. So far, other than with scallops (where I'd like to try them cooked by a pro) I've not considered having another go at the other things I've tried after eating it for this blog. I'm finding this stuff nice enough that I may well revisit it later, or perhaps have a try of some different varieties. If I do decide to return to being a veggie this is one thing I will genuinely miss.