Polish Turkey Paté {Pasztet z Indyka}
Pasztet [pash-tet] is a very popular sandwich topping in Poland. There are many varieties, pork, chicken and turkey being the most widely prepared. Here are recipes for chicken paté and chicken pate with mushrooms that I shared a bit ago. Turkey pasztet is made a bit differently as meat is ground twice making it a lot more fine and spreadable. Its very mild and aromatic, and unlike some of the pork patés, the liver flavor is subtle. Garlic and spices also add a nice balance to the dish.
Patés are always prepared for Easter and Christmas in Poland. In the spring it will be served along side of deviled eggs, veggie salad, sour rye soup with fresh sausage, and next to pierogi, fish in gelatin and red beet soup with mushroom dumplings in the winter. During both holidays, Poles prepare a wide variety of dishes, instead of just one main dish (like ham or turkey in the US). 10-12 different dishes will be served for all meals on Easter or Christmas, and since some of them are only served once a year, we’ll enjoy them multiple times in one day.
I make pasztet about once or twice a year and freeze it. When craving strikes, I take a portion out and enjoy on bread, garnished with pickle slices and/or raw onions.
Polish Turkey Paté {Pasztet z Indyka}
Ingredients
- 1 raw turkey breast + 2 legs (mine weighed about 7lbs / 3.2 kg) or about 10 cups of cooked turkey
- 2 bay leaves
- 6-8 each peppercorns and allspice whole
- 3 carrots
- 2 parsnips
- 1/4 of a burnt onion (roast right on the gas burner, or on a dry frying pan until burnt)
- 2 tbs of salt
- 10 cups of water (enough to cover the meat)
- 36 oz / 1 kg of chicken livers
- 2 tbs of oil
- 1.5 lbs / 70g of uncured bacon
- 1 cups of chopped onion
- 9 - 10 garlic cloves
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp of ground nutmeg
- 1 tbs of dried marjoram
- 1 tsp of ground pepper
- 2 cups of chicken stock (if using cooked turkey)
Instructions
Place turkey in a stock pot with carrots, parsnips, bayleaves, peppercorns, allspice, onion, water and salt and simmer on low until meat is soft (about 2 - 3 hours). Remove from stock and cool. Reserve 2 cups of stock. Taste the turkey and make note if its salty enough. *If not, add some to the meat mixture at the end.
In the meantime, rinse chicken livers and sauté in oil until cooked (about 15-20 min). They will be watery at first. Cook all water off and brown a bit. Towards the end of cooking the livers add chopped onion. Set aside to cool. Chop the bacon into smaller pieces (small enough to fit into the meat grinder).
When ready grind all meat, veggies from cooking turkey, bacon, livers and garlic - TWICE.
Once ground, to meat mixture add eggs, nutmeg, marjoram and pepper. *If turkey was not salty enough, add a bit of salt. Also add 2 cups of stock from cooking turkey. Mix well until combined.
Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Plase meat mixture into baking containers (bread loafs work well). Bake for 1 hour then turn broiler on and broil the top until golden brown.
Remove and cool. Chill before serving.
Notes
This makes quite a bit of pasztet. I made 6 mini loafs and 2 regular size loafs out of this recipe. It does very well in the freezer though, just wrap tight in plastic wrap and freeze. Enjoy slices on bread with pickles and/or onions.
Happy cooking and smacznego!
Anna
Tools used:
KitchenAid with sausage attachment for grinding: http://amzn.to/2oQHWuE
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