Chicken and lentil pâté

Directions
Preparation:15min  ›  Cook:3hours  ›  Ready in:3hours15min 

1. 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.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the shallots and garlic over a medium–high heat for 2 minutes or until they have softened. Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced chicken and the livers. Cook, stirring, for 8–10 minutes.
3. Pour in the marsala, bring to the boil and allow the mixture to bubble for 1–2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer the mixture to a food processor. Add the coriander leaves and cooked lentils, 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.
5. Spoon into six ramekins, pressing down well with the back of the spoon. Cover and chill for about 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs, then serve.

Some more ideas…

*Replace the Marsala with medium sherry. *Chicken and apricot pâté: Omit the lentils and instead use ⅓ cup (45 g) dried apricot halves, chopped, and 115 g mushrooms, finely chopped. Cook with the minced chicken and livers in step 2. Replace the marsala with 2 tbsp brandy.

Health points

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

GI estimate not able to be calculated because the carbohydrate content is minimal.