Festivity food: Patés

It's that time of year when we have festivity food on the mind and need fast food on the plate. Everybody's busy and as days get short and cold, our metabolism needs calories to burn. It is true we need to bulk up in winter, which is why meals tend to be hearty and carb loaded. So I'll alternate between festivity food you can think about preparing for the hoopla at hand and what you can pull together for a hearty meal in the meantime.

This post will focus on festivity foods known as patés.  If you look carefully you can see what that French word means by scrambling the letters: paste.  Patés are molded preparations that can be sliced or spread. They are very useful cocktail fare, appetizers, sandwich filling or even main dishes.  Some are complex: a hash of various meats cooked several ways. I'm sticking here to simple fare that looks great and tastes better.

I've already posted pecan paté in the last post (Thanksgiving) so I won't repeat it here. Nevertheless, some of what follows are repeats from posts long past. I put them here to spare you scrolling. You need the time. And also it's best to have a repertoire of known dishes you can count on again and again.

Georgian Spinach Walnut Paté

This is an unforgettably vivid vegan and gluten-free gem from the Caucasus. Just be sure nobody in sight is allergic to walnuts. I like to put one on top to signal. I have posted this before. It's a keeper that comes in handy any time of year.  I mold it in a small ceramic bowl.
 
 

1 lb baby spinach leaves, washed and dry
1 lg garlic clove
1/2 c walnut pieces or halves
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt                                                
1/2 tsp ground chili (Aleppo works great)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds or 1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves
1 tsp cider vinegar

Black pepper to your taste
to garnish: walnut halves and/or pomegranate seeds or finely crumbled feta.

Blanch or steam the spinach until it wilts. Drain reserving 2-3 tbsp of the water and squeeze it as dry as possible. Chop it finely.
Put the walnuts, sea salt and garlic in a food chopper or processor and grind to an oil paste. This means grinding until the nuts release their oil. If it seems too thick add 2 tbsp spinach water to get it to the consistency of thick hummus. Grind in the chili, coriander, parsley and cilantro. Add the vinegar and push in the chopped spinach. Before you grind season with freshly ground black pepper. Grind everything into a smooth paté. (Note: this is my adaption using modern equipment. In Georgia cooks do a lot of pounding and pestling.)

Oil a small bowl and pack in the paté, pushing down and leveling the top. Put a pot lid or something

heavy the fits and put a weight on that. Wrap everything in a plastic bag to seal it, put it in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours. Using a small spatula to loosen the edges, unmold the paté onto a round plate. Garnish with walnuts and whatever else. 
Surround with bread and a knife for spreading.
This can also be a pitta sandwich filling which you can embellish as you wish with sour cream or cheese or chopped red onion and cucumber.

       

 Salmon, scallop and spinach paté
This one's a loaf. It's eye catching color scheme, cream richness and delicate taste made it very popular in my catering business. I prepared this many times, all of them before photography became the most requisite ingredient of cooking. It takes time and costs more than the others on this relatively thrifty list but if you bother, everyone will remember you.
 serves 10-12

1 lb scallops, rinsed
3/4 lb salmon fillet
 3 egg whites
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp sea salt  
 freshly ground black pepper
pinch ground cayenne pepper
2 tbsp brandy or cognac
2 c (1 pint) heavy cream  
1 tbsp unsalted butter 
1 tbsp shallots, minced
1 lb baby spinach leaves, washed (it's okay if they're wet)
 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced

 Put the 3/4 lb of the scallops and the salmon  in a food processor or chopper and blitz 1 minute. Scrap down the sides. Add the egg whites, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, pepper, cayenne and brandy. Blend 10 seconds. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk in 1 c cream. Blend in 3/4 c more cream and get the mixture is very smooth. Refrigerate. 

In a small frying pan over low heat, melt the butter.  Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat to cool. 
  Put the wet spinach leaves in a large sauté pan over high heat and stir until they are totally wilted. Cool and coarsely chop. Put the spinach and the shallots in a food processor with 1/2 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper and the dill. Blitz 10 seconds to combine. Add   the remaining 1/4 lb scallops and process into a smooth paste. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the remaining 1/4 c heavy cream.
Refrigerate.

Heat oven to 350º. 
Butter a  5-6 c rectangular mold or bread pan.
Spread 2 1/2 c of the salmon mixture in the bottom. Be sure it's level.
with the back of a wet spoon, make a trough down the center, not touching or exposing the bottom of the pan. Arrange the spinach mixture in this trough.  Top everything with the remaining salmon mixture.  Level and smooth the top. Lay a piece of waxed or parchment paper on top and then cover the top tightly with foil. 
 Find a pan much deeper and slightly larger than the one with the paté in it. Put the pan inside and then fill the larger pan with hot water halfway up the side of the paté filled pan.  
Bake 55 minutes at 350º. 
Cool to room temperature before unmolding.
To unmold, run a spatula around the rim, invert it onto a plate and re-invert it onto your serving plate. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate until it is chilled through. Overnight is fine. 
Serve cut in slices, wiping off the knife between slices.
                           
Chicken Liver Paté 
Fowl liver is a traditional paté element in France. Chopped chicken liver is a traditional Eastern European deli food. So here are two versions you can use on crackers at parties or as sandwich filler at home. Both can and should be made ahead of when you need them.

Version 1: simple chopped liver
 makes 12 canapes or 5 sandwiches (spread thickly) 
  
2-3 tbsp corn or vegetable oil not olive
1 med yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 lg garlic clove, minced
1 tsp dried ground sage or 1 tbsp dried leaves
1 lb chicken livers, fat and gristle removed
salt to your taste (at least 1/4 tsp)
freshly ground black pepper to your taste
 2 tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier liqueur (in a pinch Calvados)
 1/2 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp Dijon type mustard 
 1 tbsp mayonnaise 
1 egg, hard boiled and peeled
1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, minc e d 

  Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with corn oil  and heat on medium. Add the onion and sage, then the garlic. Stir and sauté over medium/low (so nothing burns or gets very brown) until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken livers and stir so they reach the skillet bottom. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the livers are thoroughly cooked and brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. (They will be brown inside and not release any trace of blood.)   Turn heat to high, add the liqueur and rapidly stir 30 seconds. Remove from heat immediately.   

In a food processor or chopper , combine fennel seed, mustard, mayonnaise,  hard boiled egg, parsley and finally the liver skillet contents. Process quickly only until everything is blended into a paste. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. The paste should be creamy but no totally smooth. 

You can now lightly oil a small bowl and fill it tightly with the liver paté, pressing down as you go. Cover and refrigerate a few hours or overnight before turning the bowl upside down on a serving plate. You can also just serve it from the bowl surrounded by crackers.          
   
Version 2: a more formal paté
 This one is more French so full of butter and cream. It can be served in a crock or bowl or, see tuna paté below, you can stuff it into a baguette to make elegant pickup food. It's the sort of paté that calls for cornichon pickles on the side.

1/2 lb bacon, diced 
2 c yellow onion, diced (2-3 large)
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 shallots, peeled and minced 
1 tsp five spice powder or 1/2 tsp allspice and 1 star anise
 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves or 1/4 tsp fennel seed
 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sage 
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb chicken livers, fat and gristle removed 
1/4 c brandy or cognac
 1/4 c heavy cream     
3 sticks (3/4 lb) unsalted butter at room temperature

 In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon until the fat comes out.  Add the onion, shallots, garlic, spices, herbs and salt to the pan. Sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken livers and brandy.  Stirring, sauté   until the livers are brown on the outside but still pink in the middle.  Remove from heat and cool.

Cut each stick of butter into 5-6 pieces.
Put the contents of the skillet in a food processor or chopper and as you turn it on, add the cream in a steady stream.  Add the butter piece by piece to create a smooth paté. Pour the mixture into a 5 cup crock or serving bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 
   
Tuna Paté
This one is kid stuff: hard boiled eggs and tuna held together with cream cheese. One of the fun ways to gussy it up is to get hold of a long baguette, slice it lengthwise leaving a hinge on the far side, rip out as much of the soft center on both sides as you can and then fill those hollows with the paté. Line one side with sliced gherkins, then push the two sides together and wrap the whole loaf as tightly as you can in foil. Put it in the fridge a few hours or overnight. Then slice it down horizontally. 
 serves 8-10  

 2 lg hardboiled eggs, peeled   

6 pitted black olives

6 oz cream cheese                      

1 tsp flat parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp dill seeds                            

1 7oz can tuna in olive oil

1 tsp celery seed                     

 freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp fennel seed                     

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend into a thick paste.

*To mold: coat a 3¼ x 5¾” loaf pan or porcelain bowl with olive oil. Spoon the pâté mixture in, pressing to remove air bubbles. Smooth the top and refrigerate at least 6 hrs. Unmold and garnish the top with gherkin pickles or pitted black olives or parsley sprigs or strips of pimento.

*To make sandwiches: Cut a baguette along the side, almost to the far side. Leave enough bread crust to have a “hinge.” Pull a bit of the bread out on both sides. Fill with pâté and run some along the cut edge to “seal.” Wrap in foil and refrigerate to harden the pate´. Slice into 1” thick sandwiches to serve.