pâté di fegatini di pollo

chicken liver pâté
The version of this dish I am referring to here is typical of central Italy and is eaten spread over small slices of lightly toasted bread, called crostini. Crostini con pâté di fegatini di pollo are traditionally served as an appetizer and they are featured in the meno of many restaurants. I recommend you try them if you find yourself in the area, and maybe compare the different local versions. It is also possible to purchase fresh pâté in stores.

I grew up eating the variation common in Umbria, the region where I was born. My mother would make pâté di fegatini for special occasions, using her hand-powered tritacarne (meat mincer) to mince the cooked fegatini. She has not made them in a long time, though, because she prefers the recipe a friend of hers uses, which apparently is rather complicated, and includes, among other ingredients, anchovies, capers and a salsiccia (pork sausage). All the added ingredients are detectable when you taste pâté di fegatini, so the liver flavor is not pronounced.

In Italian liver is fegato. Fegatino is a diminutive form of the word. And since we are talking about internal organs, let me also mention the word rigaglie, meaning giblets. Another dish my mother would sometimes make is sugo con le rigaglie di pollo (tomato sauce with chicken giblets) and use it to season her handmade tagliatelle.

[This post was inspired by Lori Lynn's recent post about chicken liver pâté]

Hear me pronounce the words on the pâté di fegatini di pollo audio file [mp3] or go to the pâté di fegatini di pollo audio page for more listening options.