Turkey and lentil pâté
This coarse-textured pâté, deliciously flavoured with garlic and fresh coriander, combines minced turkey and turkey livers with lentils for a starter that has considerably less fat than a traditional pâté. Serve with toasted slices of brioche or other bread, plus some crisp vegetable sticks and crunchy radishes.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
- 55 g (2 oz) green lentils
- 1½ tbsp sunflower oil
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 450 g (1 lb) minced turkey
- 115 g (4 oz) turkey livers, chopped
- 3 tbsp dry Marsala wine
- 30 g (1 oz) fresh coriander leaves
- salt and pepper
- sprigs of fresh coriander to garnish
Method
Prep:3hr15min ›
Ready in:3hr15min
- Put the lentils in a saucepan, cover generously with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until tender. Drain well and set aside to cool.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the shallots and garlic over a moderately high heat for 2 minutes or until they have softened. Reduce the heat to moderate and add the minced turkey and the livers. Cook, stirring, for 8–10 minutes.
- Pour in the Marsala, bring to the boil and allow the mixture to bubble for 1–2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor. Add the coriander leaves and cooked lentils, and then process for a few seconds until the mixture becomes a coarse paste. Alternatively, finely chop the coriander, and mash all the ingredients together thoroughly using a fork.
- Spoon into 6 ramekins, pressing down well with the back of the spoon. Cover and chill for about 2 hours before serving, garnished with fresh coriander sprigs.
Some more ideas
Use chicken livers instead of turkey livers, or a mixture of the two. * Replace the Marsala with medium sherry. * For a turkey and apricot pâté, omit the lentils and instead use 55 g (2 oz) dried apricots, diced, and 115 g (4 oz) mushrooms, finely chopped. Cook with the minced turkey and livers in step 2. Replace the Marsala with 2 tbsp brandy. Dried apricots are a useful source of vitamin A (through beta-carotene) and one of the richest fruit sources of iron.
Plus points
Turkey livers are a rich source of iron, zinc, vitamin A and many of the B vitamins, especially B12. The iron present in the livers is in a form that is easily absorbed by the human body. * Lentils can be used as a substitute for meat in recipes such as hamburgers. Just replace about half the meat with cooked lentils and follow the recipe as usual. This cuts the amount of fat and cholesterol, and increases the fibre content.
Each serving provides
Excellent source of folate, iron, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12. Good source of copper, vitamin B1, vitamin C, zinc. Useful source of potassium, selenium, vitamin E.
