OK, we are back on the liver. It is just that liver is so incredibly nutritious and so cheap. It is important to source organic livers – or find a butcher who sources his meat from small farmers who care about their livestock. I feel slightly guilty since this is not particularly seasonal – but chicory and watercress are both also very nutritious and help detoxification, so this salad gives the system a boost and saves the pennies
Apparently it serves 4. I would say it serves 2 – 3.
- 140gm/5oz green beans, topped and tailed and cut into shorter pieces if liked
- 250gm/8oz chicken livers, trimmed of any grotty bits.
- ½ tbspn olive oil – this is a bit of a mean quantity! I would add more.
- ½tsp rosemary, fresh or dried
- 1 whole chicory or 1 whole little gem lettuce, separated into leaves
- 100gm/4oz organic watercress or rocket if preferred
- 3 tbspn balsamic vinegar
- Cook the beans in boiling water for 3 mins, drain and keep warm.
- Meanwhilst toss the livers in the oil and rosemary.
- Warm a large frying pan over a high heat and cook the chicken livers for 5 – 6 mins until nicely browned and cooked through, but still a bit pink in the middle.
- Arrange the beans on a serving dish with the chicory and watercress.
- Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan, cook for a couple of secs longer, stirring the chicken livers in the vinegar to coat. Add celtic sea salt.
- Spoon the livers over the salad and serve.
Recipe by Silvana Franco from the BBC Good Food website.
A big problem with livers of all types is they are quite tricky to cook. I find if the heat is too high, they get hard on the outside and not very pleasant. If they are overcooked, they are distinctly nasty. My daughter likes cooking chicken livers using this recipe as a base, but she cooks the livers in the oil (she uses coconut oil for preference) and balsamic vinegar from the off. She cooks the livers very slowly indeed for up to about 20 mins, stirring them about from time to time, so they are infused with the oil and vinegar. Towards the end, add salt and pepper and give another stir or two. I can assure you this is very yummy indeed and a more reliable way of ending up with nice tasting livers. You may need to add further oil and vinegar to the salad.