The liver of animals is one of the most common by-products used for food. Despite the popularity, the attitude towards the liver is not unambiguous, someone cannot eat it at all because of its specific taste, someone considers the liver to be a real delicacy, which is not far from the truth, the well-known foie gras pate is made from goose liver …
If we move away from taste, then the liver is a real source of vitamins and minerals: B, C, D, A, folic acid, potassium, iron and phosphorus. Cod liver is a source of fish oil, which is essential for the normal development of a growing body. The liver is very useful for children, as it contains many proteins and substances that have a good effect on the hematopoietic functions of the body.
But for older people, the consumption of the liver should be limited, at least not to abuse it, since the liver contains a large amount of cholesterol, which tends to accumulate in the body and settle on the walls of blood vessels.
Liver Cooking Tips
It is best to buy fresh liver, it should have a red-brown color and a characteristic sweetish smell. If the liver smells musty, then you don’t need to buy it. When buying frozen liver, you need to clearly see the date of its production.
In order for the liver to acquire a more delicate taste, especially for beef liver, before cooking it must be soaked for 1-1,5 in milk. Before that, you need to make sure that all films and bile ducts have been removed from it.
It is best to cook the liver on low heat, the slightest overexposure leads to the fact that this delicate product turns into a tough substance.
You need to salt the liver right after the end of cooking, the salt added in the process can make the product hard.
The most common liver dishes are pates, but for this area of application, the products are not pumped, roasts, goulash, pancakes and even cakes are made from the liver. Here are some of the more interesting liver recipes.
Chicken liver pate
Many people think that making a pate at home is a difficult and painstaking job. This is not entirely true, and on the example of this recipe, we will prove it.
Ingredients:
- Chicken liver – 500 gr.
- Dry red wine – 3 tablespoons
- Carrots – 1 pieces.
- Bulb – 1 pcs.
- Olive oil – 4 Art. l
- Salt – to taste
- Ground black pepper – to taste
- Paprika to taste
Carefully examine the chicken liver for the presence of bile, remove all ducts and films, rinse thoroughly under running water and boil until tender.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and fry finely chopped onions and grated carrots.
Load all products into a blender and grind, adding wine, olive oil and spices to taste.
The pate is ready, put it in a container and store in the refrigerator. The cooking time for a delicious homemade pate will take no more than half an hour.
Cod liver salad
Cod liver salad is a popular salad that is quick, delicious and healthy.
Ingredients:
- Cod liver in oil – 200 gr.
- Fresh cucumbers – 2 pcs.
- Celery stalk – 1 pc.
- Boiled chicken egg – 1 pc.
- Green onions – 2 branches
- Dill – to taste
- Mayonnaise – to taste
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper to taste
Finely chop the cucumbers, egg, celery, onion, put the cod liver on a paper towel and let the oil soak, then finely chop it. Mix everything thoroughly, season with mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Decorate the prepared salad with dill and serve.
Liver cream soup
Many are sure that the liver is a product from which only snacks or main courses can be prepared, but delicious and healthy soups are prepared from the liver. For example, liver cream soup.
Ingredients:
- Chicken liver – 400 gr.
- Carrots – 1 pieces.
- Bulb – 1 pcs.
- Potatoes – 2 pcs.
- Chicken breast – 200 gr.
- Cream – 120 gr.
- Olive oil – 1 Art. l
- Parsley – 1 bunch
- Water – 1,5 l.
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Rye croutons – 1 tbsp. l.
- Butter – 70 gr.
Finely chop the potatoes, onions and carrots. Fry the liver in a hot frying pan and add chopped vegetables there.
We boil water and put the chicken breast there. Add the fried liver and vegetables to the boiling broth. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the boiled breast from the broth and finely chop. Beat vegetables and liver with a blender until they become puree.
Add finely chopped breast, cream, salt and pepper to the puree. We put on fire, add butter and bring to a boil. The soup is ready, served with croutons and herbs.
Pancakes made from liver
A dish known to everyone from childhood.
Ingredients:
- Beef liver – 700 gr.
- Egg – 2 pcs.
- Milk – 100 ml.
- Flour – 100 gr.
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Spices – 1 tbsp. l.
From this volume of products, 25-30 pancakes are obtained.
Carefully examine the liver and clean it from films and duct, cut into small cubes and grind in a food processor or meat grinder. Place the liver in a large bowl, add all the ingredients and knead thoroughly.
Cook in a skillet like regular flour pancakes.
Serve with sour cream or unsweetened yogurt.
Look at another recipe for liver pancakes with a calorie calculation.
Liver in orange wine sauce
Ingredients:
- Liver – 500 gr.
- Mustard – 1 tablespoon
- Ground ginger – 1/2 tsp
- Bread flour
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Water – 0,5 glasses
- Butter – 2 tablespoons l.
- Juice of 1 orange
- Dry red wine – 1/2 tablespoon
You can use pork, veal, or beef liver for this recipe. Rinse the liver thoroughly and remove films and duct. Cut into slices 1,5 cm thick. Season with salt, pepper, mix with mustard and ginger.
Roll the liver slices in flour, fry over medium heat on all sides until tender. Put the finished liver on a dish.
Sauce. Pour ½ glass of water into the frying pan where the liver was cooked and melt the butter. After everything has boiled, strain the liquid through a sieve. Pour wine into the sauce and cook over low heat until the smell of alcohol disappears. Add orange juice, salt and pepper to taste. As soon as the sauce starts to boil, remove from heat and pour over the prepared pieces of liver with the sauce.
The sour taste of the sauce is in perfect harmony with the sweetish liver. If the sauce still seems very sour to your taste, you can add a little sugar to it during cooking.
Of course, these are not all recipes that can be made from the liver. On the pages of our site, you will find many interesting ways to cook this healthy offal. And read about how to cook the liver in the continuation of this article.