Smooth starts

Chicken liver parfait with Italian flavours

The silky texture of this parfait results from keeping the livers rare when you cook them, so it's critical that you use only the freshest livers and consume within five days. Montenegro is a digestive liqueur that adds layers of citrus peel, spice and bitter herbs and a distinctly Italian accent.

800 g fresh chicken livers

800 ml milk

300 g butter, half of it diced

2 fresh bay leaves

fistful of thyme

5 eschalots (shallots), finely diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

extra virgin olive oil

250 ml Montenegro

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 nutmeg, grated

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

250 ml brandy

120 ml cream

1. Soak the livers overnight in the milk then drain. Trim off any connective tissue and dry on kitchen paper.

2. Leave the diced butter at room temperature and melt the rest in a small saucepan with the bay and thyme. Set aside to infuse.

3. Sweat the eschalots and garlic in a medium pot with a little of the extra virgin olive oil until softened, then add the Montenegro and reduce down to a glaze.

4. Mix the spices together.

5. Lightly oil the livers and sear in a large pan over high heat in three batches, seasoning well with salt as you go. Flip and add a third of the diced butter and a third of the spice mix each time. Once seared to get some colour on each side, deglaze with a third of the brandy. Remove the livers as soon as the brandy goes in (the livers should be rare, and very pink in the middle), and then quickly boil the brandy and strain to a separate container. Wipe out the pan and repeat.

6. Remove the bay and thyme from the melted butter. In a blender, puree the livers with the reserved brandy mix, and the eschalot mix in two batches, adding the cream and melted butter as you go. Mix the batches together, check for seasoning and pass through a fine sieve. Pour into dishes or jars and set in the fridge, covered with cling film. Use within five days.

Makes 1 large pot or 4-6 small pots.

Drink Verdicchio.

Brik parfait cigars with mustard fruits

These little parfait cigars are great for entertaining, parfait and cracker all in one elegant little package.

oil for deep frying

7 rectangular sheets brik pastry

1 egg white

1/2 batch parfait (see recipe)

100 g mustard fruits, finely chopped (from food stores and delis)

1. Heat the oil to 180C in a deep fryer or saucepan.

2. Cut the brik pastry sheets into four even rectangles. Brush one of the short edges with egg and wrap around the handle of a straight-sided wooden spoon or a piece of dowel about one centimetre thick. Wrap the pastry around to form a cylinder, brushing the last two centimetres of pastry with egg to seal.

3. Fry each "cigar" separately using the spoon as a handle to ensure that it cooks evenly. The brik will cook quite quickly but make sure it is evenly brown and crisp. Let it cool for 30 seconds and then, using a paper towel, gently turn to loosen and slip off the handle. Set aside on a paper towel to cool fully. Repeat until all the pastry is used.

4. Fill a piping bag with parfait and pipe into the brik cases so they're half full. Lay on a serving platter with the empty end facing out, sprinkle mustard fruits over the filled end and serve.

Makes 28

Drink Off-dry (demi-sec) chenin blanc, such as Vouvray

Pickled eschalots and currants with parsley and cornichons

These pickled shallots are an ideal foil for the richness of the parfait, but are just as good with charcuterie or tangy hard cheeses. I also like them with grilled sardines or in a corned beef sandwich.

300 ml white vinegar

5 cloves

1 fresh bay leaf

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt flakes

80 g currants

6-8 large eschalots (shallots), peeled and left whole

100 ml sherry vinegar

To serve

extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

parsley leaves

tiny cornichons

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the white vinegar, cloves, bay, sugar and salt to a simmer, then add the currants and the eschalots. Bring back to the simmer and cook for another minute, take off the heat.

2. Add the sherry vinegar and stir. Allow to steep for three hours. Once pickled, separate the layers of the eschalots. These will keep under vinegar for a month or two.

3. To serve, drain off some eschalots, toss with parsley, cornichons, pepper and a dash of oil. Serve with parfait and toast.