I thought about you guys just now because I’m eating pasta. Do you remember when I used to make default pasta here on Sippity Sup? Well, of course, you don’t – you’re too young. That was eons ago. But I did want you to know I still eat pasta, and the pasta I’m eating is Chicken Liver Ragu.
Though it’s not default pasta. It’s recipe pasta. Chicken Liver Ragu from a Food & Wine recipe.
Am I going too fast? Does any of that ring a bell? If not let me introduce myself. Hi! Remember me? I’m Greg. I used to be a blogger. I’ve been lurking around these inter-webs for more than 10-years. Back then I’d develop whole posts around something I called default pasta.
Default pasta made an appearance at my dinner table at least once a week. That’s because there’s not always time to plan and shop for a specific menu. So default pasta is about winging it with what you have on hand. For me, it was a creative way to spend time in the kitchen and come up with recipes for my blog that weren’t available anywhere else. That’s the kind of blogger I used to be.
These days my mind is on so many things that I’m having a little trouble finding my Sippity Sup mojo. After pushing out more than 2000 posts it’s a bit like postpartum depression I imagine. Not that a food blog is like a baby. Oh wait, what am I saying? That’s exactly what a food blog is like. Because in order to thrive, a blog takes constant care and feeding.
So if the blog has gotta eat and I gotta eat, then, of course, I gotta feed you, my virtual eaters, too. Still. I can’t get past the lazy in the kitchen blues these days. So at dinnertime, I’ve been turning to recipes written and tested by sources I trust. I figure if these recipes are good enough for my kitchen table, they’re good enough for this blog. At least for now…GREG
PS: The Chicken Liver Ragu source recipe suggested serving this sauce with rigatoni, but, in keeping with default pasta tradition of the old days I used what I had – bombolotti. Otherwise known as half rigatoni.
Print This RecipeTotal timeYield4Source Food & Wine MagazinePublished
Ingredients
4 quartwater
¼ cupkosher salt
12 ouncedried tube-shaped pasta(such as rigatoni or bombolotti)
5 tablespooncold, unsalted butter(cut into ½‑inch cubes, divided)
¼ cupfienly chopped shallot
1 ½ teaspoondry sherry
3/4 cupchicken stock
3 ouncechicken liver mousse
3/4 ounceParmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated(plus more for garnish)
2 teaspoonchopped fresh rosemary(plus more for garnish)
1 teaspoonsherry vinegar
¼ teaspoonfreshly cracked black pepper
Directions
Bring water to boil over high heat. Stir in kosher salt. Cook pasta until very al dente, about 3 minutes shorter than package directions call for.
While pasta cooks, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium. Cook, stirring often, until butter smells slightly nutty and turns light golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add shallot; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add sherry; cook until slightly reduced, about 20 seconds. Add stock; bring to a simmer over medium-high. Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons butter, one piece at a time, waiting until butter is nearly melted before adding the next piece. Return to a simmer over medium-high; simmer 1 minute.
Using tongs or a spider, transfer pasta to skillet, reserving cooking liquid in pot. Increase heat under skillet to high. Gradually stir in chicken liver mousse (about 2 tablespoons at a time), alternating with cooking liquid (about ¼ cup at a time), stirring and shaking skillet constantly, until a creamy sauce forms and coats the pasta, making sure each addition of mousse is creamy and blended before the next addition, 4 to 5 minutes total.
Remove skillet from heat; stir in cheese, rosemary, vinegar, pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter until blended. Divide among 4 bowls; garnish with additional cheese and rosemary.
“winging it with what you have on hand”, yes I do that several times a week. More often than not, the meal will have some form of pasta in it. I call them my pantry meals. Your dish sounds just lovely…rich, creamy and delicious.
Pasta might be my favorite meal — could probably eat it every single day. Every. Single. Day. Neat recipe — I love liver in white sauces like this. We used to frequent a restaurant (now close, alas) that had a dish made of Italian sausage and chicken livers in a cream sauce. They served it over pappardelle which was rolled up into a hockey puck shape. Basically the dish was a riff on biscuits and gravy — really, really good. And speaking of good, this looks terrific. Thanks!
Has it really been that long? Now I’m feeling old, our baby’s are about the same age! I too, find it a struggle to come up with new and delicious things for the blog, but more so in the winter when photography light is fleeting. Planning ahead is usually remembering to set aside a portion to photograph the following day in decent light!
This pasta dish is definitely something I would enjoy, the creamy, earthy flavour of the paté sounds wonderful and relatively easy to whip up. I bet it’s quite satisfying too.
Sounds delicious. Default or not! 🙂
I know this won’t shock you, but this is a default pasta for us. At least a slightly different version with fresh chicken livers. I cut it out if a newspaper when you and I were in our early 20s…you maybe have been in your teens. It is a delectable combination and I pity those who won’t eat chicken livers! I like the smooth creaminess of your sauce and will try it after I pick up some chicken live pâté tomorrow at the farmers market.
Well this looks wonderful, and a great way to use leftover pate! I’m sorry your life is so hectic.
Never tried anything like this but it is worth a try. I am in Germany right now and they really like liver.
I have a homemade chicken liver pate in the freezer, that might work for this recipe.
I hear you on finding blogging mojo some days. Just know, that your virtual eaters appreciate you and the deliciousness your bring to our computer table.