A Swedish hemgjord leverpastej [1] is a rich spreadable pâté that complements most festive tables in Sweden from Christmas to Easter. Here, it´s served with cumberland sauce and French cornichons.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
In the midst of my 2019 Christmas marketing in Gothenburg city´s oldest market place, Saluhallen, I picked up by chance, the most wonderful rustic/country pâté made with the livers of duck, chicken and pork. The terrine that sat on the market counter simply read “3 Confit – Duck, Chicken, Pork” and it looked like a fine spreadable pâté. We bought some, took it home for our Christmas table and it was such a treat that I went back to Saluhallen, determined to wrap some to bring with me to Northern Norway for after the New Year´s. But there was none to be had, with the reason given by the charcuterie, “That is a very special dish, we only order it for Christmas.”
I´ve always loved liver, and it seems I will need to wait till the Christmas marketing season of 2020 to see if they bring in the 3 Confit pâté at Saluhallen again. So this weekend´s bakes are a cross-border inspiration of liver pâté, following two different recipes. The first is by Swedish by Chef Henrik Mattsson (hemgjord leverpastej / homemade liver pâté) and the second is from L´atelier des Chefs (pâté de campagne / rustic/country pâté).
The ingredients to the pâté de campagne were sourced from Aimee´s Farm located in Vestvågøy i Lofoten, Northern Norway. The farm has Scottish Highland cattle, a rustic breed of cattle and pasture fed pigs and sheep. The farm has pigs that roam outdoors in the farm lands during summer, and are kept indoors over the winter. There´s a small collective of farms and farmer cooperation in Lofoten, of which Aimee´s Farm is one.
In terms of pâté recipes, the main difference between the two liver pâté recipes is the meat to liver ratio. Pâté de campagne contains has a higher meat to liver ratio than hemgjord leverpastej. Taste and texture is usually a personal preference, with hemjord leverpastej being more spreadable (we used a meat grinder) than the meatier pâté de campagne (we used a food blender). Both are baked bain marie, and the terrain should come out of the oven when the core temperature of the dish registers 70°C.
Autumn pickled cucumbers, Swedish style [2], Styrsö, Gothenburg, Sweden. The pickling liquid is lace with horse radish, chili and crown dill. These jars were store cold and will last through the spring/summer seasons if stored well.
Pork belly, liver and beef fat were used in for the pâté de campagne.
Absolutely enjoying the smooth cut of the butcher knife by Victorinox. A kitchen tool inspiration taken from The Scott Rea Project [3].
All meat ingredients, the pork belly, liver and fat, were sourced from Aimee´s Farm located in Lofoten, Northern Norway [4].
There´s a good amount of pork and beef fat in this dish, so there was no need to butter the dish. It turned out nicely enough once cooled.
Depending on personal preference from medium to well done, a cooking thermometer indicates the innermost temperature of the terrain whilst baking. The Swedish hemgjord leverpastej recipe by Henrik Mattsson [1] recommends taking out the pâté when it reaches 70°C.
Pâté de campagne [5,6] served with orange marmalade. The main different in recipe from the Swedish hemgjord leverpastej to the French pâté de campagne is the quantity of liver used in proportion to pork. Hemgjord leverpastej uses more liver than pork, whilst pâté de campagne has more pork than liver.
References
[1] Mattsson, H. (2009). Hemgjord leverpastej, Henrik Mattsson´s Receptfavoriter. Internet resource at https://receptfavoriter.se/recept/hemgjord-leverpastej.html. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.
[2] Cordeiro, C.M. (2019). Pickled cucumber Swedish style, Cheryl Marie Cordeiro. Internet resource at https://www.cmariec.com/?p=42740. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.
[3] Rea, S. (2020). The Butchers Knife. What Are The Best Knives To Buy? The Scott Rea Project. Internet resource at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqwpAK8bUBM. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.
[4] Aimee´s Farm. Internet resource at https://nb-no.facebook.com/aimeesfarm/. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.
[5] L´atelier des Chefs (2020). Recette de Terrine de campagne traditionnelle, L´atelier des Chefs. Internet resource at https://www.atelierdeschefs.fr/fr/recette/17149-terrine-de-campagne-traditionnelle.php. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.
[6] Cuisine Facile (2019). Cuisine Facile, Pâté de campagne (sans foie). Internet resource at https://cuisine-facile.com/viandes/recette-pate-campagne.php. Retrieved 11 Apr. 2020.