Sybil's Liver Pâté in Aspic

Ingredients

• 1.500 gram chicken livers, washed in cold water
• 2.1 chicken stock cube, dissolved in 1 cup / 250 ml water
• 3.3 onions, sliced
• 4.75 millilitre chicken fat, or similar fat; 5 tablespoons
• 5.6 eggs, hard boiled; 4 for pâté, 2 sliced for decoration
• 6.5 millilitre salt, 1 teaspoon
• 7.3 millilitre black pepper, ¼ teaspoon
• 8.cinnamon, a pinch
• 9.nutmeg, a pinch
• 10.3 millilitre Maggi Fondor, ¼ teaspoon seasoning
• 11.3 millilitre sweet paprika, ¼ teaspoon
• 12.15 millilitre sherry, 1 tablespoon
• 13.90 gram margarine, 3 oz; for processing pâté
• 14.284 millilitre canned beef consomme, 10 oz can; for aspic
• 15.213 millilitre water, ¾ of consomme can; for aspic
• 16.13 millilitre gelatine, 2½ teaspoons; for aspic
• 17.15 millilitre port, 1 tablespoon; for aspic

Method

1. 1.Wash livers in cold water. Bring chicken stock to boil and put in livers. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain but retain the stock.
2. 2.Fry the onions in the fat. Mince the livers, the onions together with the fat from the pan and 4 of the hard boiled eggs. Add all the seasonings, the sherry, the margerine and a little of the stock from the livers, to make a smooth pâté — use the magimix.
3. 3.Mix the consomme with the ¾ can of water. Dissolve the gelatine in ½ the consomme/water mixture. Dissolve this over hot water — stir until clear. Now add the balance of the consomme/water mixture. Stir in the port.
4. 4.Spoon a little less than ½ of the aspic into a chilled, oiled loaf tin (25.5cm × 8cm × 6.30cm; 10½" × 3½" × 2½"). Put the tin in the refrigerator on a dish of ice. Allow the aspic to thicken slightly.
5. 5.Slice the remaining 2 hard boiled eggs. Use to decorate the aspic. The eggs must lie just under the aspic. If the aspic has set too thick, soften over a bowl of warm water. Aspic must now set.
6. 6.Spoon in the liver mixture. Pour more aspic on top. Pour the remaining aspic into a shallow dish and allow to set, to be used for garnishing.
7. 7.Put the completed pâté in the refrigerator to set.
8. 8.To unmould: loosen from the sides with a flexible spatula. Dip a towel in hot water and wring dry. Invert mould onto a platter and wrap towel around the mould. Shaking gently, release the pâté. Decorate top with parsley. Ring the edge with the reserved aspic, chopped.
9. 9.Serve with sliced rye bread or Melba toast.

Notes

• Recipe spans pages 56–57 of salads.pdf.
• Maggi Fondor is a Swiss/SA seasoning powder widely used in South African Jewish cooking.
• 4 of the 6 hard boiled eggs go into the pâté; 2 are sliced and set into the aspic layer for decoration.