A RICH recipe for chicken liver pate is this week's culinary creation from Nigel Smith, manager and head chef of the Feilden's Arms, Mellor Brook.

The dish is ideal as a first course at a dinner party or a summer snack when it's too hot to eat much -- maybe there will be one day this summer when that's the case.

Chicken liver pate

Ingredients:

1lb chicken livers

5 whole eggs

1lb melted butter

150ml port

150ml Madeira

50ml brandy

2 cloves garlic

1 sprig thyme

2 shallots, peeled and sliced

Instructions:

PLACE alcohol, shallots, garlic and thyme into a pan on gentle heat and reduce by half.

Blend the chicken livers in a food processor until smooth.

Add the reduced alcohol and shallots into the chicken livers and blend together.

Add the whole eggs, one at a time. Add the melted butter, blend together and pass through a fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper.

Place into ramekins, loaf tins or terrine moulds.

Bake for one hour in a water bath, a roasting tin filled with water with foil, on gas mark 2, 150C.

Chill for 24 hours, turn out of the mould or ramekin and serve with fresh, hot granary bread.

NIGEL'S TIPS: Make sure the livers are well trimmed and no sinews are present.

Remove any strong colour of yellow or deep green as if left they will make the pate bitter.

Make sure the containers are lightly greased and cling filmed before placing the mixture in.

Serve with a nice glass of Shiraz.