Calf’s liver, mashed potato, bacon and melted onions
- Main
- Medium
- 2
- 3 hours
PT3H
Dominic Chapman gives everyone's favourite hearty supper a sumptuous update in this calf's liver and bacon recipe, serving the liver with creamy mash, buttery kale and a rich red wine sauce. The sauce is something of an undertaking, requiring a fair few ingredients and plenty of simmering time, but the deep, complex flavour of the finished result is worth the time taken to put it together - plus there will be plenty leftover to freeze and add a touch of luxury to other warming winter suppers.
Ingredients
- 500g of calf's livers
- 4 bacon rashers , thinly sliced
- butter
- sage leaves
Red wine sauce
- 1kg beef trimmings , diced
- 500g of rib of beef bones
- 100g of button mushrooms , sliced
- 1 carrot , sliced
- 1 leek , sliced
- 1 celery stick , sliced
- 1 onion , sliced
- 1 plum tomato , halved
- 50g of pancetta , whole
- 2 black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 100ml of brandy
- 200ml of port
- 200ml of Madeira
- 500ml of red wine
- 1l chicken stock
- 1l veal stock
- thyme
- bay leaf
- 1/2 lemon , juiced
- 1/2 bunch of parsley
Mashed potato
Melted onions
Curly kale
- 300g of curly kale
- 50g of butter
Method
1
Begin by preparing the red wine sauce. Roast the bones and brown off the beef, then remove from the pan and drain. Fry off the carrots, leeks, celery and pancetta until caramelised, then add the onions and star anise to the pan and fry until golden brown. Sauté the mushrooms and add all the caramelised vegetables to the braised beef and bones
- 500g of rib of beef bones
- 1kg beef trimmings , diced
- 1 carrot , sliced
- 1 leek , sliced
- 1 celery stick , sliced
- 50g of pancetta , whole
- 1 onion , sliced
- 1 star anise
- 100g of button mushrooms , sliced
2
Combine the port, Madeira and brandy in a large pan and simmer until reduced by half. Add the red wine and reduce by half again, then add the caramelised vegetables, meat and bones to the pan along with the tomato, stock and herbs. Simmer gently for 3 hours
- 200ml of port
- 200ml of Madeira
- 100ml of brandy
- 500ml of red wine
- 1l chicken stock
- 1l veal stock
- thyme
- bay leaf
- 2 black peppercorns
- 1 plum tomato , halved
6
Drain the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer followed by a drum sieve to create a smooth purée. Weigh the mash, adding 40g of melted butter for every 100g of potato. Mix through the butter thoroughly and set aside until closer to serving
7
Place the bacon on a tray and cook in the oven at 200°C until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool
- 4 bacon rashers , thinly sliced
8
Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the kale in it for 2 minutes. Refresh in iced water, then sweat gently in butter ready to serve
- 300g of curly kale
- 50g of butter
9
For the liver, heat a dash of oil in a frying pan until hot. Slice the liver into 1cm thick pieces and fry in the hot oil until golden brown. Turn the liver over, add a little butter to the pan and fry until golden on all sides. Leave to rest for 2 minutes before serving
- 500g of calf's livers
10
When ready to serve reheat the mashed potato slowly until it reaches a suitable temperature, mixing well to ensure the mash is smooth. Still stirring, add milk to the pan until the butter begins to emulsify
- milk
11
To serve, pour a little of the red wine sauce onto the plate along with a generous serving of the creamy mash. Arrange a portion of kale onto the plate and top with the fried liver, spooning over more of the sauce. Garnish with the bacon and a couple of sage leaves and serve immediately
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Calf’s liver, mashed potato, bacon and melted onions
