Mead is the key ingredient to this Czech delicacy. Mead belongs to one of the oldest fermented beverages, at least as old as beer, and was enjoyed by the Sumerians long before the Czech founder Praotec Cech climbed up on top of Mount Rip. The mead will be used to flavor duck paté. The duck liver marinated in the mead to conjure a delicate sweet paté highlighted by apples and caramel.

For more information about the Central Bohemia Region and Hradec Kralove Region, from which this recipe comes, click here and here.

Ingredients

1 cup fat duck liver (foie gras)
2 cups of milk

For the marinade
3 1/2 Tbs mead
1/2 cup white ice wine
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp white pepper

For the sauce
1 cup beet juice
3 Tbs honey
1 Tbs vinegar
chilli to taste
salt to taste

For the side dish
3 apples
3 Tbs granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
1 tsp butter
bean sprouts
green herbs for decoration

Instructions

Soak the duck liver in milk overnight. Then rinse and dry them. Clean and remove unwanted membranes from the liver.

Mix the ice wine, mead, sugar, salt, and white pepper together and marinate the cleaned liver overnight in this mixture. Stir gently then remove the liver from the liquid and stack it on either parchment paper or plastic wrap create a roll twist the ends firmly. Then wrap the packet in the aluminum foil again, tighten the ends as much as possible.

Insert the prepared roll into boiling water lower the temperature and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the roll put it into the ice water and let it cool for at least 12 hours (24 hours is optimal).

Boil and reduce the beet juice to one third, add honey and chili, few drops of vinegar and salt to taste. It will taste very spicy and you will need only a little of the sauce.

Peel and core all apples cut one into wheels and the rest into small cubes. Sprinkle some granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon sugar on the wheel pieces of apple, then in a buttered pan sauté the wheels on both sides. when the wheels are cooked remove them from the pan and add the cubes just to heat them before taking the pan off the heat.

Unwrap the liver paté and slice it with a hot knife into small portions. To plate, place a wheel of apple, add the paté, apple cubes and complete it with a few drops of sauce, sprouts or green herbs. Serve with toast or white bread.