Duck liver parfait with caramelised apples and toasted brioche

Serves - 6 as a starter

You’ll need

• 400g duck livers, trimmed of any sinew or discoloured pieces
• 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 25g butter
• 2 tbsp brandy or Cognac
• 100ml double cream
• 175g unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the caramelised apples
• 2 crisp eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into small wedges
• 25g butter
• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• Pinch of sea salt

To serve
• 6 thick slices brioche
• A little butter, for toasting
• A few thyme leaves, optional

Method

1. Get the livers ready

Trim the duck livers carefully, removing any sinew, greenish patches or bits that look as though they have no useful contribution to make. Pat them dry with kitchen paper and season lightly with salt and black pepper.

2. Soften the shallot

Melt the 25g butter in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the shallot with a small pinch of salt and cook gently for 4–5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute, just until fragrant. You want a soft, savoury base here, not browned shallots elbowing their way to the front.

3. Cook the duck livers

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the duck livers. Cook for 3–4 minutes, turning them as needed, until browned on the outside and cooked through but still tender. Cut into the largest piece to check there are no raw centres. Liver goes from silky to chalky rather quickly, so confidence and attention are both useful.

4. Add the brandy and cream

Pour in the brandy or Cognac and let it bubble for 30 seconds or so, scraping up anything caught on the bottom of the pan. Add the double cream and cook gently for another minute, then take the pan off the heat. It should smell rich, savoury and faintly celebratory.

5. Blend until properly smooth

Tip everything from the pan into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, then add the softened butter a few pieces at a time, blending between each addition until the parfait is glossy and completely combined.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be well seasoned enough to carry the richness, but not so salty that it starts making demands.

6. Strain and chill

Pass the parfait through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing it through with the back of a spoon. This is a slightly fiddly step, but it is what gives you that smooth, restaurant-like finish rather than something more rustic and liver-pâté-adjacent.

Spoon into individual ramekins or one serving dish, smooth the top, cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

7. Caramelise the apples

Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the apple wedges and cook for 4–5 minutes, turning now and then, until starting to soften and colour.

Scatter over the brown sugar and a small pinch of salt, then cook for another 2–3 minutes until glossy and caramelised. Add the cider vinegar and let it bubble away for a few seconds. The apples should be sweet and buttery, with just enough sharpness to stop them becoming pudding.

8. Toast the brioche

Butter the brioche lightly and toast it in a dry frying pan, under the grill or in the oven until golden on both sides. Keep an eye on it. Brioche contains enough butter and sugar to move from bronzed to regrettable with very little warning.

9. Serve

Take the parfait out of the fridge 15–20 minutes before serving so it loses its chill and softens slightly. Serve with the warm caramelised apples and toasted brioche alongside, finished with a few thyme leaves if you like.

A couple of helpful notes
- Passing the parfait through a fine sieve is worth the extra minute or two. Smoothness is very much part of the point here.
- The parfait can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge, which makes it a particularly useful starter when there are other things demanding your attention.
- A little cider jelly or sharp fruit chutney would work nicely in place of the apples, though the warm fruit and buttery brioche are difficult to argue with.