I have gone choux pastry crazy! and all because of a demonstration I attended in New York by David Kolotkin, Executive Chef of the Prime Grill in New York. Please don’t skip this one saying, “oy! it too patshkedik!” This will give your dinner the wow factor.
Choux Pastry Chopped Liver Puffs
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 4 Tbsp non-dairy margarine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cake flour
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup oil of schmaltz
- 4 large onions peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 eggs
- 8 – 10 oz ready koshered chicken livers already grilled
- 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 1/2 – 3/4 cup boiling water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make up puffs as follows:
- Preheat the oven to 350 Deg F.
- Bring the water and margarine to the boil in a large saucepan on the stove. Once the margarine has melted remove from the heat. Add the flour, all at once, and stir very fast – it should form a ball. Add the eggs gradually, ensuring that they are well incorporated into the pastry.
- Place the pastry into a piping bag and pipe long finger-length rows of pastry onto a baking tray. If you prefer you can spoon tablespoons of the pastry onto the baking tray and bake them in a round shape.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, then switch off the oven and leave them for a further 20 minutes to dry out.
- In the meantime, make up a batch of chopped liver.
- Heat the oil or schmaltz in a large pot and fry the onions and sugar until golden brown. (Caramelizing the onions is the secret to that special tasting liver). While the onions are frying, hard boil the eggs. Remove the pot from the heat once the onions are browned.
- Wash the chicken livers in cold water and remove any burnt bits, membranes and sinews. Add the livers to the onions and mix well until all the livers are well coated with onions and oil. Add 1/2 to 3/4 of the chicken stock, reserving a bit in case you want to add extra once you have minced everything together. Place the pot back on the stove, bring to the boil, mixing well and scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. That’s where the flavour sits. Once it starts to boil, remove from the heat. Mince the liver and onions with the eggs, using a hand or electric mincer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Should you want a smoother texture, add some of the reserved chicken stock and remince half of the already minced liver. Mix it altogether and that should make it smoother. If you want it even smoother you can blend it in a food processor to make it a little smoother, like pate.
- Allow to cool and refrigerate immediately.
- To Assemble:
- Cut off the top 1/3 of the choux pastry puffs and spoon in the liver with a teaspoon.
- Gently replace the lids after filling.
- Fill with liver as close to serving as possible.
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