Living in Poland pasztet or liver pate is in every shop. I prefer to make it at home. Similarly, I did not know pate was so popular in Russia until I saw it in the shops everywhere. печеночный паштет (Russian, pechonachniy pashtet) is Russian for Russian Pate. This is a very tasty Polish chicken liver pate.
This is a range free organic rooster from the Polish countryside
This was actually an imported food from France in the 1500s where it was popular with the nobility but I am sure in the villages people were already cooking some variation of this.
How to make Polish liver pate in 9 steps
- After rinsing chicken livers (watroba) under cold water add them to simmering water with some natural bullion or soup stock.
- Add some onions, mushrooms, carrot, salt, I prefer coarse and pepper.
- Alternatively use parsley and onions (or even better garlic – please not the chinese kind, just chop fresh garlic) with salt and pepper. I prefer green onions.
- Take out the chicken livers and place on a cutting board and chop into small pieces. At this point you can add bacon/pork pieces that have been cooked and diced.
- Add olive oil to moisten it.
- Add lemon to soften the taste.
- When in fine pieces put back into pan until it is a much type pate – you can add an egg yolk if you like. I do not. I add a teaspoon of brandy.
- Before it is a spread you can add dill or other herbs and bread crumbs, in Poland we use bread rolls. I do not like it too bready.
- Serve it on a fresh piece of French bread sliced thin with a sprig of parsley.
You can use a food processor to mix it up or a blender if you like. In Poland they just mince it to a fine paste with a knife, it taste better for some reason.
Liver spread for picnics
I would always go for picnics on Sundays in spring, summer and fall. I lived in Krakow which was a horribly dirty city and needed to get air. I do not even know what people do on Sundays in the states, shopping I guess.
In Poland we eat it during picnics. It is not processed food. Instead of buying ham just make this. It is healthy because it is nutrient rich. The best are organic chickens as the liver is the filter of the body.
It is very tasty if you bring it with some apples and pears. The store bought stuff is junk in my opinion. I lived in Poland for ten years and can count on my left hand the number of times I bought liver pate in a sklep (shop). In contrast, my mother in law Grazyna made the best as does my wife. The above recipe is right from the Polish countryside. Let me know if you have anything you are not clear about. I will have to update it with either a video or photos one of these days.
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