Sautéed liver & apple salad with blackberry dressing
By Jane Hornby
Dress up cheap chicken livers in this gorgeous salad for an impressive looking dish that’s ready in 25 minutes
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Prep:10 mins
Cook:15 mins
- Serves 4
- Easy
Nutrition per serving
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kcal 524
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fat 28g
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saturates 7g
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carbs 34g
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sugars 23g
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fibre 6g
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protein 29g
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salt 0.5g
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 sharp eating apples, such as Braeburn, peeled and cut into sugar-cube-sized pieces
- 500g chicken livers, trimmed (see tip, below left, for how to prepare)
- 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned generously
- 100g bag salad leaves
- 100g walnut halves, toasted
- crusty bread, to serve (optional)
- 200g blackberries - smart tart berries are better than dessert ones
- 2 tbsp red wine or Port
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp golden caster sugar, plus extra if needed
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Tip
Preparing chicken liversUse kitchen scissors to snip out anything that looks sinewy or greenish, trying to keep the lobe shapes as intact as you can. Pat them dry with kitchen paper before coating with flour if stated in the recipe.
As well as being rich in minerals, liver is a good source of B12, a vitamin which helps your body to use iron. It’s also high in vitamin A, important for healthy skin, hair and nails. However, if you’re pregnant, you should avoid eating liver, as too much vitamin A can be damaging to an unborn baby.
Method
Make the dressing first. Set aside 8 of the berries in a bowl. Put the rest of the berries, the wine, vinegar and sugar in a medium pan, cover and simmer for 3 mins or until the berries are very soft. Mash the berries well, then pass the hot mixture though a sieve, on top of the reserved berries. Season and cool. It should be quite sharp and fruity, but blackberries vary hugely; if you need to, add more sugar and taste again.
Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large non-stick frying pan and add the apples. Cook for about 5 mins, turning the apples now and again, until golden and just tender. Can be done a few hours ahead.
When you’re ready to eat, dredge the livers in the seasoned flour and tap off the excess. Heat the rest of the butter in the pan and fry the livers for 5 mins or until golden, turning them halfway through cooking. When red juices start to run from the livers, you know that they are almost ready. Toss the apples back in the pan to warm through, then take it off the heat.
Spread the salad leaves across 1 large platter or 4 plates, and top with the livers, apples and walnuts. Whisk the oil into the blackberry dressing and spoon this over generously. Serve with crusty bread, if you like.
