One of my favourite dishes, this could easily justify the title ‘the king of hors d’oeuvre’. The delicate flavour and texture of foie gras is enhanced by the slight tartness of the sauce. If you cannot get hold of duck foie gras you could use chicken livers or even calf’s liver instead.
preparation time 15 minutes
cooking time about 20 minutes
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 fresh duck foie gras, weighing about 500 g (1 lb)
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 shallots, finely diced
1 teaspoon finely crushed green peppercorns
juice and finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 glass of Cointreau
300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream
25 g (1 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6.
2 Remove any green surface marks from the foie gras. Separate the lobes and cut them into slices 5 cm (2 inches) thick.
3 Place a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. When it is very hot, put the liver in the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Turn the liver over, season again and cook for a further minute. Transfer the pan to the oven for 5–8 minutes.
4 Remove the liver from the oven, put it on a warm plate and cover with aluminium foil.
5 Pour off the surplus fat from the frying pan, return it to the hob and add the garlic, shallots, green peppercorns and orange zest. Cook gently for 2 minutes without colouring.
6 Add the orange juice and boil until reduced by half, then pour in the Cointreau. Stir in the cream, bring to the boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
7 Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time, then add the chopped coriander. Pour the sauce over the foie gras and serve immediately.
A phenomenal amount of fat comes from foie gras during cooking and it’s worth cooling, storing, and using at a later stage for adding an incomparable flavour to soups and stews.