By Jax Hamilton
This beautifully blush, light and silky parfait, is the perfect addition to any social dinner party, platter or just because you want a treat. Anyway, who said treats have to be sweet. Enjoy.
Serves 8
PARFAIT
- 2 shallots, diced
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 4 tsp port
- 4 tsp brandy
- 1 sprig thyme
- 250g chicken livers – cleaned, sinews removed, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 250g butter, melted (not hot)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
CLARIFIED BUTTER
- 200g butter
- large sprig thyme
CHUTNEY
- 250g oranges
- 375g sugar
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tbsp salt
- pinch dried chilli flakes
- 625ml malt vinegar
- 250g onions, chopped
- 250g dates, stoned & roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 170 and have ramekins ready.
Place shallots, garlic, port, brandy and 1 sprig of thyme in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, simmer and reduce until almost syrupy (4 to 5 minutes). Remove from the heat, cool to room temp and discard the thyme sprig.
Blend together the chicken livers, eggs, cooled shallots and sauce and 250g melted butter to a thick puree. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Press through a sieve, scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the sieve, then pour into the ramekins. Place a square of foil over the tops of each and place in a roasting dish.
Pour hot water into the dish, just up to the middle of the ramekins. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. A good indication that they are cooked is if the centre is a little raised.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before popping in the refrigerator. Cover the parfaits with a little sprig of thyme and some clarified butter.
Melt the 200g of butter in a saucepan. When it has melted and separated, spoon the clear butter over the tops of the parfait. Decorate with a sprig of thyme.
CHUTNEY
Finely grate the skin of half the oranges, and use a zester for the rest, so you you have curly thicker pieces and also a fine zest (try not to get any white pith as it can be very bitter).
Working over a bowl to catch any juices, peel the oranges, removing any white pith. Remove the orange segments (discard any pips) and roughly chop.
Pop the sugar, syrup, salt, chilli flakes and vinegar in to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour in the oranges, juice, onion, dates and fine zest, stir well. Reduce the heat and simmer until thick (about 1 hour). Remove from the hat and stir in the remaining zest. When completely cool, pour into airtight sterilised jars and serve with the parfait, or it’s also gorgeous with blue cheese or BBQ meat.
