I love chicken livers. But I cannot make them when my husband is around, since he simply doesn’t like them. So, as he’s travelling now, I have the opportunity to make the things I like and can also experiment with new things.
This recipe is a bit different from the traditional way of making chicken livers, which seems to be with onions and/or garlic, at least in Spain. There are variations from family to family, like adding wine or not, adding some pine nuts and maybe some parsley or other herbs. But when I was discussing the recipe with my mother and sister-in-law both made a funny nose at my mention of adding apples!
However, I loved the combination and hope you will give it a try too, if you haven’t already thought of this… it’s delicious and especially so for kids, if they won’t eat liver otherwise. In addition to the apples, I made my dish into somewhat of a tapa and added some raw spinach and a strawberry coulis as dressing.
- 400g chicken livers, rinsed and cut in halves
- 2 medium onions, chopped or julienne
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Spanish pimenton or paprika
- sea salt, to taste
- 2 apples, peeled and either chopped or cut into slices
- 1/2 cup white wine
- coconut oil, butter or lard for cooking (I used lard for extra flavour)
- For the strawberry coulis, optional:
- 8-10 strawberries
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon water (if necessary)
- spinach or other greens, optional
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the oil/butter or lard.
- Add the chicken livers, onions and garlic.
- Sauté until the chicken livers are browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add the apples and sauté an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add the pimenton, sea salt and wine.
- Cook until the wine is reduced, about 10-15 minutes, and the livers are done. (If you prefer them slightly raw, cook less time. I like mine done all the way through with no blood.)
- For the strawberry coulis:
- In a small saucepan, over low heat, place all of the ingredients and stir.
- Cook until the strawberries become “mushy”. Remove from heat and cool.
- When the mixture is cool, puree with an immersion blender, food processor or blender.
- To eat as a tapa:
- Place some spinach or green of preference on the bottom of the serving plate/dish.
- Spoon some chicken livers with apples over the greens.
- Pour some strawberry coulis overtop as dressing.