Calf’s liver sans etiquette
Fried calf’s liver: yum. My children don’t like it, which is exactly why I love making it when it’s just me. Add some bread and that’s it. (After all, onion is also a vegetable…) Oh, and because no one’s watching anyway, I actually think this tastes best if you eat it straight from the pan, dragging your bread through the juices to get the very last drop. Bow to the rules of etiquette some other time.
Serves 1
Olive oil, for frying 40g butter 1 large onion, sliced into rings 150g calf’s liver, sliced on the diagonal into 5mm strips A splash of dry marsala (or sherry) A small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped A wedge of lemon Bread, to serve
1 Heat the oil and 10g of the butter in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the onion and fry for 3 mins, stirring. Sprinkle with salt, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and fry gently for 10–15 mins, until starting to caramelise.
2 Remove the lid, turn the heat back up to high and fry the onion for 2 more mins until nice and brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3 Add the rest of the butter to the pan and fry the liver slices over a high heat, turning regularly, until brown on both sides. This has to happen very fast, in around a minute and a half, or the meat will be dry and the thrill, gone.
4 After 1 min, return the onion to the pan, sprinkle everything with salt and freshly ground pepper and deglaze with marsala (or sherry). Let the mixture bubble for another 15 secs, then dress with parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Enjoy with bread, for mopping. »