Drinks advice

Chicken liver paté with Osborne IORF Medium Sherry

In four small jars is chicken liver pâté with shallot, thyme and cognac, sealed with a layer of butter; next to it lies toasted bread. The medium sherry sets a mahogany-coloured, half-sweet wine against it that catches the iron-like side of the liver.

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Chicken liver pâté
Photo: stu_spivack, CC BY-SA 2.0

From the shelf

The bottle

Osborne IORF Medium Sherry is a medium: according to the Consejo Regulador a blend of dry generoso wine with naturally sweet wine or concentrated must, with medium coming out between 5 and 115 grams of residual sugar per litre. For this bottle Osborne reports a dark mahogany colour, a rich bouquet and an average ageing of five years in the solera system; the bodega calls the result medium-sweet, nutty and full. The bottle is at 19 percent alcohol and comes in 75 centilitres. That puts it on the sturdy side of the medium style, which according to the Consejo falls between 15 and 22 percent.

Osborne IORF Medium Sherry

The combination

Why this works together

Chicken liver pâté has two sides that often sit badly: the iron-like, almost bloody tone of the organ meat and the amount of butter that binds the pâté. A medium sherry tackles both, but by different means than a dry wine would. The residual sweetness settles over the iron tone and takes the edge off it, just like the onion confit or the fig bread that is served with pâté in many places. At the same time the wine has the oxidative, nutty register that comes from the five years of solera, and that connects with the roasted side of seared liver and with the thyme in the pâté. The 19 percent alcohol and the acidity carry the butter away, so the pâté stays creamy without turning sticky. The Consejo Regulador names pâté as the first pairing for medium, even before quiche.

At the table

The dish

  • For 4 people
  • Ready in 40 minutes, plus a night of chilling
  • Type starter

What you need

  • 250 g chicken liver
  • 125 g butter
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • a few sprigs of rosemary
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • 2 tablespoons cognac
  • 100 ml white wine
  • 2 tablespoons whipping cream
  • salt and pepper
  • toasted bread, to serve alongside

How to make it

  1. Rinse the chicken livers and cut out the tough and greenish parts.
  2. Melt 25 g of butter in a pan and fry the livers for seven to eight minutes. Cut one open to check whether it is cooked.
  3. Melt another 25 g of butter in a second pan and fry the shallot, garlic, rosemary and thyme in it for three to four minutes.
  4. Pour in the cognac and the white wine and let that reduce for two to three minutes, until about a third is left.
  5. Strain the liquid over the livers into a food processor. Add 50 g melted butter and the cream and blend everything to a smooth mass. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Divide the pâté among four small jars and smooth the top.
  7. Melt the last 50 g of butter, let the milk solids settle and pour the clear butter over the pâté as a sealing layer. Place a sprig of thyme in it.
  8. Let the pots cool and put them in the fridge for at least a night. Take them out half an hour before eating and serve with toasted bread.

In the glass

Serving

Serve this medium at 12 to 14 degrees, the temperature the Consejo Regulador recommends for medium, in a white wine glass. Fill the glass to about a third, just as with the dry styles. An opened medium keeps much longer than a fino: the Consejo reckons about two months for oxidatively aged and blended sherry, with the bottle closed and stored cool. So you can easily let this bottle follow the pate for a few weeks.

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