Liver Pate

Preamble
"Try these timesavers on a busy weekend. A good liver pate is very much easier to make than many cooks imagine. Make it in advance when the kitchen is not so busy and it can be eaten over a period of 2-3 days, the flavour improving very much after the first 24 hours. A quickly prepared pizza makes a delicious lunch or supper dish, whereas pate is the ideal stand-by for snack meals. Ideas here are for easy, weekend cooking. Liver pate: Pig's liver makes an excellent pate; it has a good strong flavour. On the other hand, you can use lamb's liver, or a mixture of either of these and chicken liver - it depends on how expensive you care to make the recipe. If you order the liver and belly of pork in advance, your butcher might be persuaded to mince the ingredients for you - once for a coarse pate and twice for a smoother mixture."

Ingredients
1 lb Pig's Liver
1/2 lb Belly Of Pork
3-4 Anchovy Fillets
1 level teaspoon Salt
Freshly milled Pepper
1 peeled clove Garlic
1/2 pint Milk
1/2 peeled Onion
1 Bay Leaf
1 oz Butter
1 oz Flour
2 Eggs
Melted Butter for the top

Method

Trim the liver and remove any skin or rind from the pork. Pass the liver and pork twice through the mincer with any anchovy fillets - stir anchovy essence in after mincing (if using). Add the salt and pepper.

If the garlic is to be included, crush the clove to a puree with a little of the salt used for seasoning. Set the ingredients aside in a bowl while preparing a white sauce for binding the mixture.

Infuse the milk with the peeled onion and the bay leaf for about 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour.

Cook gently for a moment, then stir in the strained milk. Bring up to the boil beating well all the time to get a smooth sauce.

Cook for a moment, season to taste and draw off the heat.

Pour the sauce into the minced ingredients, add the lightly mixed eggs and beat the ingredients very thoroughly to mix.

Pour the mixture into a greased 2 pint pate dish or china souffle dish. Cover with a lid or foil.

Stand the dish in a roasting tin with about one inch of cold water. Set in the centre of a moderate oven (350 deg. F or gas 4) and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Test the pate by pressing gently in the centre. If no pink juices run then the mixture is cooked through.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Pour over about 2 oz melted butter to cover the top and fill spaces round the sides of the dish. Leave overnight before serving.