If you know me – you know I have an affinity for Italy, even having lived in Tuscany for a few months between 2021 and early 2022. The Tuscan cuisine just does it for me and one thing I’ve always loved when visiting Tuscany was chicken liver pate crostini’s. Since I don’t plan to visit Tuscany for another few months, I decided to try a few different Tuscan Chicken Liver Pate recipes until I found the one that most tasted like the Tuscan Chicken Liver Pate I know and love. After not quite finding the flavor I was looking for.. I ended up crafting my own Tuscan Chicken Liver Pate recipe and it’s the most authentic one I’ve had outside of Italy!
A little peek into the home I resided in when I lived in Tuscany.
As I was creating this recipe: I started to really miss my time in Tuscany. Not only did I live there for a few months but I’ve visited Italy nearly every year since 2013.. it’s truly a home away from home for me. While nearly everything in Italy is special, there’s something particularly exceptional about the cuisine!
Some of my favorite bites that I’ve enjoyed while visiting and living in Tuscany – Tuscan food is just so good! The top left photo is a bacon wrapped quail. The top right photo is an assortment of beef carpaccio (some topped with truffle and the white ball on the bread isn’t butter – it’s cheese infused ICE CREAM!). The bottom left is a perfectly cooked duck over local greens with pear puree and pear slices. Of course, “eating in Tuscany” wouldn’t be “eating in Tuscany” if you didn’t have some Tuscan “Florentine” steak, as pictured on the bottom right.
A little aperitivo (pre-dinner drinks and appetizers) in Cortona, Tuscany included a plate of different cheeses, fried veggies and cured meats (rear) as well as a plate of various crositini’s (forward) the front one, on the right, being a chicken liver pate that sparked my curiostiy to create this recipe!
Tuscan Chicken Liver Pâté Recipe
Prep Time: 15min Cook Time: 15min Yields: 20-25 crostini’s
What You’ll Need:
1 pound of chicken livers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons raw* unsalted butter
1 red onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1-3 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon capers
3 sage leaves
2 sprig’s of rosemary
handful of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons raw* creme fraiche
1/2 cup parmigiano
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
*I use raw, unpasteurized dairy. However, you can use conventional, pasteurized, dairy or a dairy alternative for these ingredients.
First
Melt butter and mix in olive oil over a medium heat in a large pan.
Next
Add garlic, onion, sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, anchovy(s) and capers and cook 5-7 minutes (until onion begins to brown).
Then
Season chicken livers with salt and pepper (salt sparingly as you’ve added anchovy already which naturally adds salt) and add to the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook the livers until they begin to brown. Add 1/4 of a cup of white wine vinegar and begin to stir it in, breaking the chicken livers up as you stir. After the wine has absorbed, add the other 1/4 of a cup of white wine vinegar and repeat.
Last
Take the pan off of the heat, remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs as well as the bay leaves. Let the chicken livers cool (this is my preferred method as something doesn’t feel right about adding hot/warm food into a plastic container) before adding them to the food processor with the lemon zest and the parmigiano. Process until desired texture. I prefer a little bit of a chunky texture, however, a true pate is very smooth.
Plating
I’ve been avoiding all things gluten so while a traditional recipe would call for the pâté to be served on a crostini (a toasted thin slice of bread) I chose to plate my pâté with some seeded crackers, instead! I also love to pair crackers with this Tuscan Chicken Liver Pâté with a few other things for a light lunch.
