Seared Chicken Liver with Baked Apple Parsnip Purée, Port Wine Shallot with Sour Cherry and Chinese Artichoke

Frankly, I did not plan this dish, not for a single second, I simply felt the taste in my mouth. This might sound strange, but that's how it happened. I took out a pack of sour cherry and some Hungarian chicken liver from the freezer, by the way real treasures to me! And so I started with peeling parsnip and baking the apple slices.You might think that this dish takes long to prepare, but you are wrong! And it is not complicated at all. Most of the work is done by itself, after all the apple bakes on its own, the parsnip cooks silently in its milk bath. The sauce needs most of your attention, but after the first steps the work is done.I must say that now I am really sorry for all those who doesn't like liver, and even more sorry for those who do not even dare to try it! The puree is so silky and smooth and the parsnip works so well with the vanilla and clove scented baked apple. The slightly sage flavoured sour cherry with the shallots are perfect with the seared chicken liver. It is truly a combination made in heaven!

Ingredients:
for the puree:
250 g parsnip
1 shallot
2 small apples (Jonathan)
1 clove per apple slice
1 vanilla pod
white port wine
400 ml vegetable or chicken stock
100 ml milk
2 tablespoons butter
salt, pepper
for the port wine shallots:
6 shallots
150 g  chicken liver per person
2 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
3-4 sage leaves
5 tablespoon elderberry vinegar (or a berry vinegar)
2 tablespoons sugar
50 g sour cherry
150 ml port wine
150 ml veal stock
salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Slice  apples in about 1 cm thick slices and stick a clove into each of them. Cut vanilla pod in about 1 cm slices, half them and smear it on the apple slices. Sprinkle with white port wine and bake for 15-20 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave it in the hot oven for 1-2 hours. Melt a tablespoon butter and sautee chopped shallot, add sliced parsnip and a small piece of vanilla pod. Cook parsnip until soft in a mixture of stock and milk. Remove the peel of the baked apple slices and puree together with the parsnip and about 50-60 ml cooking liquid and puree. If it is not silky enough, add more cooking liquid, a tablespoon butter, mix it up and season with salt and pepper. Sear liver in oil, then keep it warm in the 50°C warm oven. Discard oil from the frying pan, melt butter and sautee shallot for a few minutes. Add vinegar, reduce, add sour cherry and sugar. Let it caramelise, add stock, port wine and sage and cook until it has reduced and turns into a thick sauce. Add one or two knobs of butter and season.