Flavoured Oatcakes & Pistachio Pate

This recipe was for our Christmas day starter. We have previously made a few homemade pâtés so this time we wanted to do something a bit different. To make the basis of the pate we followed our usual recipe.

We melted 110g of butter in a pan over a medium heat, then added a whole chopped onion and fried until softened and glossy, but not coloured. We then added crushed garlic and chopped chicken livers, stirring until the livers were golden brown and cooked through.

We added a good measure of brandy and seasoned the mixture well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. We then let the mixture cool slightly. Meanwhile we shelled and chopped a handful of pistachio nuts.

We put the cooled mixture, some more butter and the pistachios (keeping some for decoration) into a food processor and blended until smooth. Seasoned to taste, then transferred the pate into a serving dish and put into the fridge to chill.

To impress our guests and do something different we decided to make flavoured oatcakes to accompany the pate. We had four flavourings: parmesan cheese, chilli flakes, ground black peppercorns and pink and green crushed peppercorns.

We used medium oatmeal and combined it with some salt, some olive oil and gradually added enough boiling water to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough. We separated the mixture into quarters and added the flavourings.

We then rolled out each ball to about 5 mm thick before cutting into circles. We then baked them in a preheated oven (180ºC) on the middle shelf for 12-15 mins (or until firm).

We let them cool on a wire rack before serving with our delicious homemade pistachio pâté and a mixed salad.