Warm Chicken Liver Salad on Garlic Croutes

, from Issue #31. September, 2015
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Warm Chicken Liver Salad on Garlic Croutes

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

400 grams fresh chicken livers
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
knob of butter
12 large sage leaves
4 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced ½ cm thick
2 handfuls baby spinach

Dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To serve
4 slices sourdough bread, grilled and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic

METHOD

Dressing: Whisk the ingredients in a bowl, season and set aside.

Clean the chicken livers, trimming off the white sinew and any greenish bits that will be bitter.

Cut each liver into two large pieces.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a knob of butter in a sauté pan and fry the sage leaves until crisp. Drain on kitchen towels. Frying the sage leaves first will flavour the oil.

Add the chicken livers to the pan, season and sauté over a medium heat for about 4 minutes until nicely caramelized on the outside and still a little pink in the centre. Transfer to a bowl, cover and keep warm. Add a little more oil and butter to the sauté pan and cook the mushrooms until golden and tender. Add the spinach, the chicken livers with any resting juices and the dressing to the pan, turning to combine and lightly wilt the spinach.

To serve: Place the grilled bread on serving plates and spoon over the chicken livers. Garnish with the crisp sage leaves.