Decadent Duck Liver Parfait
With the Christmas party season almost upon us not only will we be attending a fair few parties but we will be hosting a soirée or two as well. Wanting to impress we turned to multi-award winning wedding and event caterers Beales Gourmet to share with us a show-stopping recipe that will leave your guests talking about your party for years to come.
Duck Liver Parfait
Serves 6 people
INGREDIENTS
300g butter, softened
olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
400g Fresh duck livers, trimmed
1 tsp. chopped sage & fresh thyme
1 small wine glass of Armagnac (or quality brandy)
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed pink peppercorns
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 110ºC/225ºF/gas Mark 4. Put half the butter in an ovenproof saucepan and pop it in the oven to slowly melt until it has separated – this will take about 10 minutes. Strain the yellow clarified butter into a separate bowl and set aside to cool. Discard the remaining milky-coloured butter.
Prepare the livers by removing the sinew. Leave whole.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Slowly fry the shallots and garlic for 10 minutes, until soft and tender, then remove to a plate. Wipe the pan clean with some kitchen roll, turn up the heat then throw in the livers with the sage and fresh thyme. Cook the livers for a couple of minutes on each side, until lightly coloured but still a little pink in the middle – if you overcook them they will lose their smooth texture and become grainy.
Pour in the Armagnac. If you’re using a gas hob, you can flame it until the alcohol cooks off, but watch your hair!
Simmer for a minute or so, then take the livers off the heat and tip them into a food processor with the cooked shallots and garlic. Blitz until you have a smooth texture. Add the softened butter and continue to blitz (save a little for the topping), then season well. Transfer the mixture to parfait moulds or ramekins.
Sprinkle the crushed pink peppercorns over the parfait then spoon over the remaining clarified butter. Leave the parfait to set in the fridge for 1 hour. It will taste beautiful straight away, but it’s even better if the flavours are left to develop for a couple of days.
Serving suggestion
Serve with toasted brioche, a spoon of fig & star anise chutney, and squirts of apple foam.
