Deliverance

Fegato di Vitello alla Veneziana... piu o meno...
More or Less Venetian-Styled Veal Liver

Ok, I have never been to Venice, or even the planet Venus, but I based this dish on a preparation I saw on a tv show, that claimed to be the traditional Venetian method. Usually, the recipe is nothing more than the typical liver and onions that we are accustomed to, with a rich gravy and usually served with polenta or simply some white bread. The dish I saw included celery, carrots and potatoes and was finished with balsamic vinegar. So with that as my inspiration, I decided to do my own thing and to make a slightly more elaborate and refined dish. And the way I did it went something like this...

I started off by peeling and slicing my carrots and celery. The potatoes I scrubbed, but kept the skin on as I prefer the flavor that way. I popped the potatoes and carrots into my frying pan with a little water, and pre- cooked them for 3-4 minutes, after which I added some sliced carrots and celery. So having a little head-start on the cooking time, I moved on with the rest of the preparation which went very quickly.

 I added a few slices of spicy sausage to the mix and then turned the heat up high- the idea was to get the sausages nice and brown and to flavor the vegetables with their juices. As soon as I heard the sound of sizzling, I added some crushed garlic, fresh rosemary and oregano and turned down the heat so that they could continue to cook and brown whilst I got the liver and pears ready.

The pear was simply sliced thinly and sautéed in a little butter, with some coriander powder, salt, sugar and pepper. I gave it 2-3 minutes on either side and then moved on to the live.

I cut the liver into bite-sized chunks and coated it in flour, before frying it in a hot pan. As soon as it was browned off on the first surface, I dusted it with oregano and pepper and flipped it over till it was browned off on all sides. Season with salt but do not use salt until the end, as it will make the liver tough. Next step was to add the spring onion and a little honey and balsamic vinegar... and it is at this point at the latest that things became really delicious...

Now doesn't that look and sound good? And you know what? it was! All I had to do was to serve it all up together- a little of each ingredient and a little side-salad of German field greens... delicious!