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Recipe Pasta: Chicken Liver Ragu

Chicken Liver Ragu

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. 

Chicken Liver Ragu

Chicken Liver Ragu 

Print This Recipe Total time Yield 4Source Food & Wine MagazinePublished
Chicken Liver Ragu

Ingredients

  • 4 quart water
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • 12 ounce dried tube-shaped pasta (such as rigatoni or bombolotti)
  • 5 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter (cut into ½‑inch cubes, divided)
  • ¼ cup fienly chopped shallot
  • 1 ½ teaspoon dry sherry
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 3 ounce chicken liver mousse
  • 3/4 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated (plus more for garnish)
  • 2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (plus more for garnish)
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly 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.