Rarely on time, and never on trend, we are perennially late to the party. Yes, we may have been blogging about offal since way before David Chang made it cool, but we have yet to purchase our first ironic message tee featuring butchery terminology or get our forearms inked with a selection of cutlery. This may be even more surprising given that we live in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, where the hardcore of Williamsburg’s hipsters would move if only they were cool enough. But if further illustration of our being behind the times were necessary, look no further than our brand new facebook page, now only a week old (feel free to “like” us, as the kids say).
It’s also very typical of us to cook unseasonably based entirely on whimsy. We made the heaviest Colombian dish on a sweltering 95 degree day, and a ceviche in November. However, in a radical departure from our conventional untimeliness, we recently got way ahead of ourselves (and everyone else) and made a wonderful spring time saute of lamb’s liver and baby carrots with an anchovy-rosemary butter sauce.
A dash at classic French technique, plenty of butter and some excellent early season baby vegetables made it a perfect dish for the mild winter we’re having this year which, regardless of the prognostications of Punxatawney Phil, has provoked our little patch of crocuses into bloom during the first week in February.
(feeds 2 for a light dinner or a robust appetizer)
Ingredients:
- 1lb cleaned lamb’s liver, cut into 2inch wide strips
- 1/2lb young carrots, peeled and trimmed
- 1 handful pattypan squash
- 1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter
- 1 pint vegetable stock
- 4 or 5 salt cured anchovies
- 1/2 sprig rosemary
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Recipe:
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add carrots and pattypans. Season well with salt and black pepper. Saute lightly for two minutes. Add half stock, bring to a simmer and cover for four minutes or until vegetables are tender. Kill heat but keep lid on to keep veggies warm.
- In another saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, and after seasoning liver slices well with salt and plenty of black pepper, saute until taking color on one side, about 2 mins. Turn them over and cook for another two mins. Remove to a warm plate. (This should give you liver that’s still slightly pink in the center. If you like it grey all the way through, cook it another minute.)
- In a mortar and pestle add chopped up anchovies and rosemary with remaining softened butter and pound into a paste. Slowly add lemon juice and keep pounding to make a thickish emulsion sauce.
- Plate vegetables and liver spooning braising liquid from vegetables over everything. Top with anchovy-rosemary butter sauce and enjoy with a glass of red cotes du rhone.
There’s something in the water… as the song says. Are we again posting about similar things at the same time? You show me your liver and I show you my tongue ;D
Although I’m not a fan of liver, I bet yours would make me a believer again! Awesome presentation and the sauce is delicious.
Thanks for the alert to your FB page. Consider yourself liked!
Thanks, Rachel. You may the first (and only?).
Yes, Nuria! I have no problem being on the same wavelength as you. In fact, I am thinking of Barcelona right now and, wow, you’re there! JEALOUS.
Im gonna like your fb page right now- and the lamb liver looks delish
I am a miserable facebook person. It seems like I don’t have time for my close friends and forget about visiting fb for weeks on end! Will try to look in and friend!
Great little dish you have there. Having had lambs stones last year, I feel pretty brave about offal, but have never seen, or at least noticed, lamb liver… must look into it!
@Deana: At least we’re aren’t alone – if we were any good with facebook we’d have launched our page way sooner! Lamb’s liver’s not that easy to find. We bought it from a small farm in Pennsylvania at the same time as an entire ox heart, something else that city supermarkets aren’t well stocked with. It’s worth seeking out if you have the time, but veal liver is a great substitute. Similar in taste profile and texture, as well as pretty mild.
Such a lovely dish! Anchovy and rosemary sound like the perfect flavor addition, plus red cotes du rhone nails it!
LL
I’ll take this as a robust appetizer please. I am extremely fond of liver but never cook it. Maybe this recipe will change that. really.
Just coming out of baby vortex, never been so tired, happy but tired. I think i need to write you an E mail.
Like obviously.
Hehe, I just recently broke down and started a FB page for my blog as well -and just “liked” yours from there. 🙂
What’s the flavor profile of lamb’s liver, as compared to beef or pork liver? I think the Yemeni markets in Hamtramck sell it; I should give it a try.
@Noelle: good question. It’s pretty mild tasting, perhaps surprisingly. I would say it’s probably somewhere between veal and beef liver in “strength”, so to speak, being closer to the mild, minerally-ness of veal liver rather than the heavy, almost metallic taste of beef liver. To tell the truth, I’ve never knowingly eaten pork liver by itself, only as part of a pate, so I can’t compare to that. Good luck too with the FB page. We’re following you right back!