INGREDIENTS
300 g salted butter, at room temperature
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 teaspoons rapeseed oil
400 g whole chicken livers, after trimming
sea salt
white pepper
¼ cup spiced aquavit
a few thyme sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra to garnish
rye bread or crispbreads, to serve
100 g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Fennel jam
½ teaspoon salt
1 x 600 g fennel bulb (or 2 smaller ones), very thinly sliced (using a mandoline if you have one)
140 g caster sugar
juice of ½ a lemon

METHOD

Sterilise a couple of glass jars by washing them thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinsing well, then putting them on a baking tray in a low oven (120°C) for 20 minutes. Leave to cool.

To make the fennel jam, combine the salt, fennel, sugar and lemon juice in a small heavy-based saucepan over a very low heat and cook for at least 40 minutes and up to an hour, stirring often to make sure it doesn’t catch on the base of the pan. The fennel should be soft and the mixture a rich golden colour. If the mixture starts to dry out, cover with a lid. Allow to cool a little then transfer the jam to the sterilised jars (they can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks).

Meanwhile, clarify 100 g of the butter by melting it in a small saucepan over a low heat until the white solids separate out. Gently pour the golden melted butter into a bowl or jug and discard the solids.

In a non-stick frying pan saute the shallots and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for three minutes, or until soft. Increase the heat, add the chicken livers and season with sea salt and a pinch of white pepper. Cook the livers on all sides for a minute or so, just to seal, then continue to cook for four to five minutes, until they start to give out some moisture. Pour in the aquavit, cook for one minute more, then transfer to a blender.

Add the remaining butter, some more white pepper and the thyme leaves and blend for three minutes, stopping every so often to scrape down the sides.

Transfer to a shallow 600 ml glass or ceramic dish. If you want a very smooth pate, pass the mixture through a fine sieve straight into the dish. Pour over the clarified butter then set in the refrigerator for at least two hours. The flavours develop with time, so ideally leave it overnight. Covered in plastic wrap, it will keep for up to a week.

Serve the pate with rye bread or crispbreads and the fennel jam. Scatter over the toasted hazelnuts and garnish with the extra thyme leaves.

This is an edited extract from The New Nordic by Simon Bajada, published by Hardie Grant Books.