Liver Pate

I'm not sure how many of you grew up eating liver...I sure didn't (Jewish Grandmother and all...I was a deprived child). So when a professor of mine recommended eating liver for its high vitamin A content to help with a hormonal imbalance I was experiencing, I cringed at the thought. Now, 2 years later, I've come around, and made my first beef liver pate recently. It is delicious! I've been spreading it on dehydrated (raw) nut and seed crackers, but you could put it on anything, veggies included. Let me list some of the wonderful health benefits of liver.

Liver (from an organic source), is incredibly nutrient dense, particularly in Vitamin B12, A, copper, folate, riboflavin, and selenium. Also a good source of zinc, iron, protein, and vitamin C. Sufficient B Vitamin intake, which many lack, is essential to many bodily functions, first and foremost heart health. It is also key for energy. Zinc is crucial to immune health, and Vitamin A prevents vital infections, improves eyesight, and protects the lining of the blood vessels. An interesting side note: if you have that common goose-bump like appearance on the back of your arms, it is likely to be caused by the condition keratosis, and is a vitamin A deficiency.

So...check out this recipe for liver pate! Adapted from farmlet.co.nz.

Beef Liver Pate

500g beef liver 
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
sea salt
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper

*Saute the liver and onions in a couple of tablespoons of the butter until the livers are browned and the onions are tender.

*Add wine, garlic, mustard, herbs and lemon juice and cook uncovered until most of the liquid has gone.

*Cool and blend to a smooth paste in the food processor along with the rest of the butter. (This is easier if the butter is not fridge cold!)

*Add salt to taste.

*Check the consistency of the pate. If it seems dry and crumbly rather than smooth and creamy, add more butter.

*Put pate in a shallow dish and press the cracked pepper onto the top of it.