It was difficult last week to hide an overwhelming sense of rhapsody when redeeming my carwash loyalty card; seven visits to Mint Green of Temple Fortune and I was entitled to a free outside wash; I could be forgiven for thinking it probably doesn’t get much better until later on in the same day I stumbled across the live performance of ELO at this years Glastonbury festival on BBC iPlayer.
If you’re unaware of ensemble rock classists The Electric Light Orchestra, imagine Gloucestershire based intelligence center GCHQ flying through intergalactic space with Beethoven, Hank Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles and Black Sabbath all commanding the flight deck.
The soundtrack to my childhood was played note perfect by Jeff Lynn and Richard Tandy, the Nick Hewer and Alan Sugar of philharmonic rock, ably supported by a string section of brunette celestial seraphim, who could have assuredly doubled-up in the salacious dreams of Brienne of Tarth.
And all this whilst a grown man in a straw hat rowed across the crowd in an inflatable dinghy.
I may never have purchased a conservatory from the back of the Sunday Times, but I’m well aware that all of the above makes me very middle class, and as a consequence I write with the most bourgeoisie recipe I know, chicken liver pate with crostini.
For the chicken liver pate:
300g chicken livers, 1 large white onion diced, 1 clove garlic
100 fl oz white wine, vegetable oil for frying, salt and pepper
Place a large quantity of oil in a pan (perhaps 1/4 of an inch), add the onion and cook over a low gentle flame until golden and translucent. Cover with the white wine, and cook until reduced to a few table spoons.
Now add the, garlic, then livers, and cook until a delicate pink in the middle. Drain off 3/4 of the residual oil, although keep as you may need to add later. Blitz the livers in a food processor and add the excess oil based on the consistency you want, and then season to taste.
For the crostini:
1 Baguette cut into 1/2″ slices, toasted or grilled
2 cloves raw peeled garlic
Rub the garlic onto the toasted crostini, and top with the pate.