Chicken Liver and Mushroom Christmas Starter Recipe

What you'll need

• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• 3 onions, finely chopped
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 400g chicken liver, trimmed of sinew
• 3 tbsp brandy
• 140g white breadcrumbs
• Small bunch parsley, chopped
• Handful of walnuts, chopped
• 12 smoked streaky bacon rashers
  

Time: 70 mins

Serves: Makes 12 Starters

Method

First

Get your oven nice and hot at 190C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and soften the onions for about 8-10 minutes. Turn up the heat, throw in the mushrooms, and fry for 10 minutes or until golden and all the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the garlic, cook for a further minute, and tip the lot out onto a plate.

Second

Pat the livers dry, and add a touch more oil to the pan. Sizzle them on both sides for about 20 seconds - you want them golden, but not cooked through. Set aside on a plate. Tip in the brandy and let it reduce by two thirds, and once the livers have cooled enough to handle, roughly chop them and toss them in the brandy reduction. Add the mushroom mixture, the breadcrumbs, and almost all the parsley and nuts, and give it all a good mix in the pan for a minute or two.

Third

Wind the streaky bacon into nests in a 12-hole cupcake tin. Spoon the mixture into each nest, scatter with the remaining nuts, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Uncover, and cook for 25 minutes more, then serve hot with fresh parsley scattered over the top.

Wine Match

For the perfect wine pairing, crack open a bottle of the lush Ulithorne 'Dona' GSM 2016. This dish and  this juicy, light and food-friendly wine pairing is going to work like a dream! Yum!

There you have it -- a special recipe for Chicken Liver and Mushroom Christmas Starter!

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