Country Liver Pâté

Allspice is the unripe dried berries of the pimento tree from the West Indies, they contain overtones of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Also known as Jamaica pepper, used in savoury dishes, baking and pickling it can also be ground to a husk. Whole allspice visually resemble peppercorns and are often combined with them in pepper mills.

Place the onion and bay leaf in a pan with the milk. Slowly bring the pan to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse. Meanwhile, mince the liver, back bacon and rinsed anchovy fillets or simply put them in a food processor, then blend in the spices, salt, and pepper to taste.

Melt the butter in a large pan and stir in the flour, cook through, you now have a roux, before beating in the strained milk and boiling until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and blend in the liver mixture. Slowly bind with the lightly beaten egg.

Line a 450g terrine dish or loaf tin with the streaky bacon rashers, leaving them to hang over the edges. Then spoon the pâté mixture into the dish and fold the rashers over the top ensuring they overlap a little. Cover with a lid or a piece of buttered greaseproof paper and place in a large roasting tin and pour in cold water to a depth of 1". Bake the pâté in the oven for about 2 hours, at 160°C, or until a steel skewer comes out clean.

Remove the terrine dish from the oven, cover the pâté with freshly buttered greaseproof paper and place a heavy weight on top. Leave the pâté to press until tepid to room temperature before turning it out to serve as a first course.