Liver Lover

I am a Liver Lover. To the extent that my favourite James Bond movie is Liver and Let Die, one of the best books I have read is Gabriel García Márquez’s Liver to Tell the Tale, and when I am in the mood for liver I listen to Uriah Heep’s Easy Liver. More liver than clever but I am not letting these darlings die – instead, I tell my tale of how to cook easy liver.

Even as a child, liver was among my top ten foods. Usually fried on a pan and spiced with lots of white pepper, but also cut into pieces and cooked in a creamy sauce and served with mashed potatoes and fresh lingonberries.  I cannot remember if I had had lambs liver before moving to Ireland but here it has become my absolute favourite - simply and quickly fried on a pan and enjoyed with lingonberry jam which you can buy at the IKEA food shop.

Liver casserole is a traditional Finnish food made of minced (pork) liver, rice, onion, raisins, eggs, milk, syrup and butter. In the old times liver casserole was usually made for Christmas, but nowadays you can buy it ready-made in every shop in Finland all year round (various brands, with or without raisins, lactose-free…), heat it in microwave or on a pan with lots of butter, or even enjoy cold.  I know people who love to fill their sandwiches with cold liver casserole and a dash of mayonnaise… - When I went to school in Finland in the 80’s, liver dishes, especially liver casserole, were frequently served in the school canteen. Now having a look at the school menus in Finland I can hardly find any liver on them.

I mainly use lambs liver in my kitchen and every now and then pork liver, too. It is not easy to find beef liver in Ireland, but when I see a piece I grab it. What comes to the family, my sons love liver and my husband eats it occasionally (‘best when wrapped in bacon and BBQ’d’) but the daughters and the cats never. 

When I need an energy boost, I treat myself to some lambs liver for lunch as it is best when enjoyed alone in the house (that is, no kids saying yuck and no husband seeing how much I actually eat...).  If there are any leftover mashed potatoes, it really is a quick lunch, and very inexpensive gourmet, too, the price of lambs liver being about 6-7 € / kg.

My Easy Livers:

Pan-Fried Lambs Liver:

Fresh lambs liver, about 150 g / person

Butter

Salt and black/white pepper

1. Heat a frying pan, add a knob of butter and fry quickly on high heat so that the middle is reddish, but cooked.

2. Enjoy immediately, preferably with mashed potatoes and lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Minced-Liver Hamburgers (makes 10):

300 g minced beef liver

3 medium-size potatoes

1 onion

1 apple

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground white pepper

1. Mince the beef liver. I use my food processor to get it very smooth.

2. Grate the potatoes, onion and apple and mix with the liver.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. Fry on a pancake pan on low heat (takes about 5 min / side). 

5. Serve with potatoes/mash and, again, lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Liver Casserole (for 4):

2 dl / ¾ cup rice

300 g pork liver

2 tsp salt

½ l / 2 cups milk

1 egg

1 onion

½ tsp ground white pepper

2 tbsp syrup

1 dl / ½ cup raisins

Butter

1. Cook the rice until tender and drain it.

2. Mince the pork liver in a food processor.

3. Chop the onion.

4. Mix the rice and liver and add egg, milk, finely chopped onion, raisins, syrup and spices.

5. Grease an over-proof dish with butter and pour the casserole mix there. Add a few knobs of butter on top if you like.

6. Bake in the oven at 175°C / 350°F for about 1 h 15 min.

7. Serve with lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Cook’s Notes:

*I usually buy liver from a butcher’s or from the counter at a supermarket, as I trust it is fresher, but after buying packed liver from Tesco, I have to say it was a delicious surprise.

*If you are a bit suspicious with liver and/or find the taste of liver strong, replace half of the liver in the hamburgers with minced beef.

*Liver casserole may not be the most beautiful dish in the world but it sure is worth trying!

Jury’s Comments:

“What’s the smell in the kitchen… yuck, the liver looks like something I have inside of me!” (Daughter, 9, smelling and seeing fresh liver in the food processor)

“Yummy!!” (The Little Brother, 6, eating a minced-liver hamburger)

“Better than Saarioinen [a brand in Finland].” (Son, 13, Liver Casserole Monster)