Lovely Liver!

For many people  – liver is love it or loath it.

I think certainly for me and most Poles it is love it!

The Polish for liver is wątroba – which means “waste maker” – as the liver is the organ in the body where substances are broken down.

In Poland the most sought after livers  are calves liver & rabbit liver.

My aunty in Białystok- cooked some rabbit liver for me when I  was there last – I thought it was utterly delicious  –  but as far as I am aware it is not readily available to buy in England.

I  see calves liver for sale more and more here in England and I  buy this whenever I can.

My mother always cooked pig’s liver, never ox liver.

I usually cook lambs liver if I cannot get calves liver.

I think liver is best lightly cooked, even slightly pinky,  it becomes hard and tough if over cooked.

There is a restaurant in Krakow called Dom Polonii ( House of the Poles) just off  Rynek Główny (Main Square) it serves very traditional dishes.

Rynek Główny (Main Square)

I like to eat there very much and can never make up my mind which dish I want the most. Their fried liver is super and I will have that at least once when I visit Kraków.

Liver is the main ingredient of  pâtés and similar dishes which are very popular in Poland –  I will look at these in future posts.

Cooking Liver

These recipes are all  variations on a simple theme.

I use calves or lamb’s liver for these recipes .

Preparing the liver

• Depending on how it has been prepared by the butcher,  you might have to remove some veins or membranes.
• Slice the liver into thin equal sized slices.
• Dip each piece into a mixture of plain flour and ground black pepper.

 Simple Style Liver

• Lightly pan fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
• Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
• Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
• Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -3  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices)

Liver with Soured Cream

• Follow the instructions for the simple style but only cook for 1 -2 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of soured cream and mix well.
• Return to the heat  and allow to simmer for  1 -2 minutes.

Liver with Onions 1

In my old Polish cookery book  (my bible in many respects) this simple recipe (without the herbs) is called  …. po angielskiu  which means  …. English style!

• Thinly slice 1 or 2 onions (I like lots of onions with the liver).
• Fry the onions in butter & sunflower oil till golden.
• In a separate pan lightly pan fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
• Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
• Add the onions to the fried liver and mix together and serve.

Liver with Onions 2

• Thinly slice 1 or 2 onions (I like lots of onions with the liver).
• In a pan, fry the onions in butter & sunflower oil till golden. (You can fry a little longer to slightly char or caramelise them if you like)
  
• In a separate pan, lightly fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
• Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
• Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
• Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -3  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices).
• This will give a tasty sauce with the liver.
• Place the fried onions on top and serve.

Liver with Mushrooms

• Thinly slice mushrooms around 100g of button mushrooms
• Fry them gently in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil.
• Add the mushrooms to the fried liver as in the simple style above and mix together.
• Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
• Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -4  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices).

Liver with Mushrooms & Soured Cream

• Follow the instructions for the Liver with Mushrooms but only cook for 1 -2 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of soured cream and mix well.
• Heat up slowly and allow to simmer for  1 -2 minutes.

Served here on Royal Doulton – Carnation, 1982-1998

Serving suggestions

Sprinkle liberally  with chopped parsley.

All of the above go well with boiled potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, boiled rice, noodles or pasta such as tagliatelle.