Now I may have lost many of you on the title alone. But trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong? If you hate liver & onions, that’s ok. If you’ve never had liver, then you can’t say you don’t like it!
Liver is an extremely inexpensive meat per pound, because most people don’t know what to do with it, or don’t like it. Their loss is my gain. And yours.
Beef liver is what liver & onions is typically made from, because it is much larger. Chicken livers are a lot smaller, and are perfect for this recipe which requires blending them into a sauce. They cook up quickly, and easily fit in the blender. It is up to you, I imagine beef liver would taste similar.
Organ meats (offal) were traditionally a large part of many cultures. However it seems they are not thought of much and even spurned in today’s society; where we can all basically afford whatever cut we want. But every animal killed for a steak, wing, or ham contains edible parts like the liver, kidney, and even heart.
Some avoid liver because they are concerned that it stores toxins, since the liver’s main job is to detoxify chemicals and drugs in the body. Chris Kesser sets the record straight: “While it is true that one of the liver’s role is to neutralize toxins (such as drugs, chemical agents and poisons), it does not store these toxins. Toxins the body cannot eliminate are likely to accumulate in the body’s fatty tissues and nervous systems.”
So eating liver will not cause you to ingest a bunch of toxins. It will cause you to ingest large amounts of all kinds of vitamins and micronutrients though. Gram for gram, liver has more copper, iron, vitamins A, C, D, and E, B vitamins, and P, K, Mg than apples, carrots, or lean red meat in most cases combined. Of course, where the liver comes from is important. A grass-fed, naturally raised cow’s liver is much healthier than a CAFO animal fed antibiotics, growth hormones, corn, and packed in too tight to lie down.
If you are lucky enough to already like liver, rock on! Keep eating that superfood. And hopefully you will love this recipe, as a new and exciting way beyond the typical onions or pate to enjoy liver. If you don’t like liver, give this a try anyways and see what you think. Blended up with other veggies and pasta, you may not even notice. Look for it in the frozen section if you can’t find it in the meat aisle.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pasta (I used bowtie)
- 1 pound chicken livers
- 1/4 cup cream or milk
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- Handful chopped kale or spinach
- Garlic salt
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Step 1: Boil the pasta for 7-9 minutes. While that’s boiling, cook the livers over medium heat until only slightly pink, then turn heat off. Drain pasta and put in a large fry pan.
Step 2: In a blender, combine cooked livers, milk, and garlic salt to taste. Blend well and coat pasta. Add in can of diced tomatoes and greens. Cook another 10-15 minutes, until greens are wilted and everything is heated through.
Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top. That last tiny hit of saltiness really makes this sing. It is a bit gamey, but I absolutely loved it! Which is good, because it made about four meals’ worth for me.
Do you ever eat liver? If so how do you cook it?