I love liver… as long as it’s ground up into an unrecognizable paste that’s been highly seasoned with cream, spices and booze, that is. For the most part the Everyman won’t eat liver under any circumstances, so when there is pate, it’s usually all for me.
As much as I enjoy a creamy pate, I never quite caught on to the appeal of eating a plain piece of fried liver with onions for dinner. So I don’t. Ever. But every once in a while I do get the urge to play around with pates and create something sumptuous and luxurious out of a piece of meat that a lot of people typically discard. It just so happened that this weekend I was in that creative mindset…
To the best of my recollection it’s been a few months since the Everyman and I last visited The Black Hoof, but I’d never stopped thinking about that ethereal goji fois mousse we’d gobbled on our last visit. From the get-go I’d known that experimenting with fois was way out of my budget (specifically because I’d mess it up) so I’d always intended to prepare my version by flavoring a chicken liver mousse instead. Unfortunately, working with liver is not particularly fun. It’s cold and sort of slippery-slimy, and it gives off a not entirely pleasant ferric smell. I know, stop making it sound so awesome that you have to make it right now, right? But, a goji mousse was desired, so certain sacrifices had to be made.
Once the livers were trimmed and cleaned, they were set aside while I sauteed some chopped white onions. Once translucent, the livers were added back to the pan with a healthy sprinkling of fresh thyme. The gojis were reconstituted in a small cup of boiling water (though in hindsight I probably should have just used warmed brandy) and then added to the pan too. The mixture was sauteed until the livers were cooked through but still mostly pink. Then the whole lot was thrown into a food processor and whizzed into submission. While it was spinning about the cream and brandy were drizzled in, along with a modest dash of salt and pepper. Lastly, (because on occasion I end up with too loose a pate) an envelope of gelatin was added to help firm up the contents. After thoroughly cooling, I sealed the top of the pate crock with a layer of schmaltz; partly for preservation, but mostly for a little added flavor. Refrigerating for a few hours helps to properly set the mousse to a spreadable consistency.
