With more than half a pack of Sainsbury's £1.34 'cooking bacon' (so what's the other stuff for?) spare after what was needed for a paella taken out I decided to make pate (if there's a way to do the accent here I can't find it). The bacon pack had been chosen to make big cubes of meat, as it contained just three thick slices that had I asked for them at the counter would have cost a fortune.
No pig's liver at Booth's, so I bought 200g of pork mince (£1.09) to bulk and balance it out, and asked for some back-fat, expecting to pay a few coppers. They gave me free-of-charge a piece of rind about 30cm by 30cm with deep fat and the bonus of a layer of meat. Back home it took just seconds to slice off what I needed and discard the actual skin.
The other ingredients were crumbs from a day-old roll, two fat cloves of garlic, seasoning, an egg and a glass of spiced rum (have several bottles from reviewing job, but a glass of wine, cider, brandy or even gin would do as alternatives). My 27-year-old food processor whizzed the meats and crumbs in turn, everything was then mixed in a bowl and transferred to a solid non-stick loaf tin. Cover with foil, put that container in a roasting tin with boiling water half-way up, and cook at 140C for 80 minutes before uncovering to colour a bit for another 20 at 170C. More than 500g of country pate (the accent thing is annoying - if you know the trick please say) for less than £2.
Sometimes I do something similar with chicken livers, or pig's liver, and play tunes with herbs from the garden - bay on top, thyme and sage chopped and mixed in. It's cheap party food too, but this one will be several lunches and a first course or two, and I may freeze half for a few weeks hence.
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