Gary Rhodes Chicken Liver Parfait Recipe
Magnhild Lachowicz
I was used to making fancy-pants chicken liver parfait, with all the faff of making it almost textureless and the nervous wait while it was in the oven. If this very butter-rich liver custard split in the oven, you were in for a serious round of discussion with the other more senior cooks in the kitchen.
To make things easy for our hosts we all brought some food. My course was the starter or appetiser. So, yesterday afternoon I got to work with a few easy canapes type recipes, one of which was homemade Chicken Liver Pate. I first tried this chicken liver pate recipe a number of years ago when my mum and dad were coming for Christmas or New Year. We all enjoyed it so much it has become a Christmas time tradition.
I found the recipe in a book of short cut recipes by Gary Rhodes. The original recipe was to serve 4 people but as the fresh chicken livers always seem to come in a 400g pack I just increase the other ingredients to suit.
Melt a knob of the butter in a medium sized frying pan and soften the chopped shallot and crushed garlic for 2-3 minutes. Now added your seasoned livers and fry on a medium high heat for 2-3 minutes both sides. They should be firm but still pink in the middle. My husband loves chicken livers so if he is about I let him have a taste to confirm they are cooked properly.
In a food processor blitz the livers until smooth, add the remaining butter and brandy and blitz again until combined. Place the chicken liver pate mixture into a bowl or mould, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill and firm up.
Paul was one of the contestants in this year's Great British Menu. His menu of Cornish duck pancakes with Scotch duck eggs, Fischerman's lunch, Pork 'head to toe' and his dessert 'Taste of the Fairground' won him a place in the finals and his dessert was chosen for the 'People's Banquet'. After this triumph on Great British Menu no doubt even more people than before will find their way to his restaurant in Padstow.
No. 6 restaurant opened in 2006 and since June 2008 Paul's head chef has been John Walton. Paul and John both have trained under British chefs. Paul has worked with Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay (Royal Hospital Road) and Marcus Wareing (Petrus) and John has worked with Rick Stein and Marcus Wareing - which is where he first met Paul.
We started with the must-have that night: Scotch duck quail's egg. In the days before we went to the restaurant locals (both in person and on Twitter) told us we really couldn't leave the restaurant without having had it and right they were. The Scotch egg dish was very popular that evening and luckily there was one portion left for us to share.
Scotch quail's egg, duck, panko breadcrumbs, light Madras mayonnaise. A fantastic Scotch egg with a perfect thin crust. Delicious and succulent duck. Beautifully seasoned and a lovely spicyness from the sweet chilli sauce mixed in with the duck. Great with the Madras mayonnaise.
Next course (and shared too) was goose liver parfait with deconstructed piccalilli and pickled cucumber. The most elegant and smooth parfait. The deconstructed piccalilli was delightful, sweet and not too acidic. Lovely crisp cauliflower, cucumber and shallots. A perfect sweet and sour balance. This dish shows that if done well there's certainly merit in deconstruction. Beautifully presented too, with lovely toast.
As a first course I had Smoked haddock, Vichyssoise, leeks, black pudding, egg. Wonderful flaky smoked haddock with a gorgeous rich and creamy Vichyssoise. Fantastic tasty black pudding. Robust flavours that were well balanced.
Xavier, my husband, had 'Jimmy Butler' crispy pig's head, crackling, salad cream, smoked eel. Tasty pig's head with (again) a perfect thin crust and obviously very well drained so not too greasy. Lovely and meaty eel. Ligthness and freshness from the dressed salad leaves. Fantastic crackling. A dish with great textures.
The next course was called 'Wings Land and Sea'. Rolled skate wing, crispy chicken wing, gem lettuce, beurre noisette and textures of pea, garlic flowers. Beautifully cooked skate and lovely chicken served with the most wonderful pea puree and fresh peas. The pea puree was exceptional because of it's pure and clean flavours. Lovely crisp lettuce and a terrific depth of flavour from the beurre noisette. A fantastic dish with the perfect touch of acidity and a hint of garlic from the garlic flowers. Stylish and refined presentation.
On to the main course. Slow cooked veal chop, boiled-egg Bearnaise, asparagus, chips in dripping. Perfectly cooked and really tasty veal. Lovely chips, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The asparagus were lovely too although they could have had a bit more of a bite to them. Fantastic Bearnaise, the boiled eggs in this Bearnaise made it so much lighter than the classic version and as such it was perfect to accompany the veal.
Xavier's main course was Braised ox cheek and raw rump, glass noodles, pak choi, chilli and beef consomme. The ox cheek had been slowly cooked for 18 hours in a water bath and was rich and succulent with a hint of spice - the essence of beef. The melt-in-the-mouth raw rump was served with a wonderful rich but delicately spiced beef consomme which had a lovely Asian aftertaste. The glass noodles and pak choi provided the necessary structure and lightness.
For dessert we had the locals' favourite: Taste of No. 6 . This dessert is a selection of puddings to share. To mention but a few: Delicous greek yoghurt with molasses and toasted oats. Wonderful chocolate mousse. Perfect panna cotta with lovely rhubarb. Glorious Fairground doughnuts filled with chocolate. Fantastic banana and passion fruit ice cream with popping candy in it. All wonderful desserts that would easily hold their own as a pudding course individually.
Paul Ainsworth has created a versatile a la carte menu with dishes that are essentially modern British into which he successfully integrates French and Asian influences. I was particularly impressed with the deft handling of the Asian flavours. Furthermore the dishes show originality and a real understanding of ingredients and flavours. The a la carte menu offers a range of dishes, some more rustic, some more refined, that will cater to the tastes of a great many people.
After dinner I had a chat with Paul Ainsworth and I got to know him as a very charming and passionate man. This passion no doubt has allowed him to attract a wonderful team of people, not only in his kitchen but also in front of house. Alex Tozer, the assistant manager, was positively brimming with enthusiasm and took very good care of us. He is very knowledgable about the food and wine served in the restaurant (hubby was very pleased with the quirky Marlborough Montepulciano from Framingham he suggested). We had a great time. On the website Paul Ainsworth at No. 6 promises a dining experience that is simple, affordable and fun. Well, they made good their promise - and then some.
Rachel Tan is the Associate Digital Editor at the MICHELIN Guide Digital. A former food magazine writer based in Singapore, she has a degree in communications for journalism but is a graduate of the school of hard knocks in the kitchen. She writes to taste life twice.
And so, Blumenthal set out to come up with a chip that would keep its crunch. His recipe calls for simmering cut potatoes \u2014 the chef prefers dense, floury spuds like the Golden Wonder, Maris Piper, King Edward and Sebago \u2014 in water first for 20 to 30 minutes until they are almost falling apart. This step is important because the cracks provide places for the oil to collect and harden during frying, which is what makes them so crispy later on. The potatoes are then drained and placed on a cooling rack to dry out and then into the freezer for an hour or so until all moisture is completely removed.
The chips are then fried in small batches in a deep-fat fryer at 130\u00b0C till a light crust is formed, but not browned. Again, the fried chips are drained and placed in the freezer for another hour to eradicate all moisture. Finally, the chips are fried at 180\u00b0C for about seven minutes till they achieve a golden-brown crust.
Thinking aloud, Blumenthal runs through a laundry list of other signature dishes that he has come to be known for over the years, like Meat Fruit (chicken liver parfait masquerading as a mandarin), snail porridge, red cabbage gazpacho and the Sound Of The Sea, a dish where diners listen to the sound of waves and seagulls while dining on sashimi. \u201cThey\u2019re milestone dishes I want to put on the wall at The Fat Duck. A timeline of events tracing the evolution of my cooking \u2014 not just the dish but the research and what led to the dish coming about,\u201d he says. \"When that time comes, you can be sure that triple-cooked chips will have pride of place on that very wall.\"
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