Liver Pate (Leverpostej)

Leverpostej is an all-around Danish favorite on sandwiches. If you can get pork livers, they are worth the extra trouble, but you can make a very fine pate with lowly chicken livers. The finished pate can be packed into a ceramic container and covered with cracked black peppercorns, strips of cooked bacon, or even a layer of aspic. In our house it is used as a spread on toasted baguette rounds or thinly sliced rye bread (rugbrod) and topped with some coarse salt and a balsamic onion relish, canned fried onions, crumbled bacon, or sliced cornichons. The preparation is very simple and consists of a flavor base followed by searing off the livers and then cooking them further in white wine. The flavor base makes use of an interesting property of anchovies: they will dissolve in a hot oiled pan and deeply flavor a dish, but people won't be able to guess what the flavor is. Delicious!

olive oil
2-3 anchovies
2 Tbsp. capers
1 pound of chicken livers (rinse them well)
1 cup of white wine or champagne
kosher (pure) salt
pepper and cracked black peppercorns, if desired

Heat a large skillet or saute pan to medium high and add some olive oil to coat the pan. Add anchovies and capers and stir occasionally until the anchovies have dissolved. If the anchovies are very high quality or very fresh they will sometimes not dissolve completely but will break up into small pieces. After a few minutes, add the chicken livers and cook them for about six minutes, turning them halfway through, so that they are nicely browned on the outside and quite firm. Add the wine or champagne and cook for another 20 minutes or until the liquid has been reduced somewhat and seems thicker. Transfer to a food processor and puree until very smooth. If the mixture seems too thick, add a drizzle of olive oil to help thin it out and puree again. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.
Pack the pate into a ceramic container, smooth out the top, and cover with a thin layer of cracked peppercorns.

Sometimes I make a balsamic onion relish to top the leverpostej sandwiches. It's well worth the time. Take a couple of onions, slice them very thinly on a mandoline, sweat them in butter in a covered skillet for about 20 minutes, then uncover, add a cup of balsamic vinegar, and cook down until the mixture is syrupy. Add salt and pepper to taste.