“What am I! Chopped liver?”

“What am I! Chopped liver?”

A popular expression “chopped liver” means second best, or being ignored or overlooked as a side dish, which chopped liver traditionally considered to be. It can also be used with respect to someone or something which is perceived to be of little value. Nothing can be further from the truth, because liver pate is one of my major cooking achievements and part of my food repertoire.

Expressions aside, chopped liver pate is well known in cuisines around the world and there are many variations on a theme.

 

Four thousand years ago, during China’s Han era, liver was listed as one of the Eight Delicacies of the World.

Originally duck and goose livers were chopped to a paste. Romans and Jews used various methods of fattening geese by force-feeding them. The French adopted the method of making pate de foies gras a supreme gastronomic achievement of French cuisine. The finest foies gras is still made from the livers of fat geese in Southwestern France but it has been gradually replaced with chicken livers.

Liverwurst, which is a liver spread, is a German invention and is popular all over Europe and is traditionally made from liver and pork in the form of a sausage. It is usually well seasoned and peppery.

Nutritionally, liver is a storage of vitamins and considered to be superfood. it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. It’s a natural source of Vitamin B12 and folic acid. Pregnant women in many countries around the world are advised to eat liver by their doctors. Many believe that liver is good for brain health and nervous system. Liver seems to have made a comeback in the age of cholesterol phobia. Recent studies have shown this.

 

Chopped liver is traditionally made with cooked liver and fried onions. Some add chopped eggs. Traditionalists still use goose or chicken fat to fry the onion.

My recipe evolved from my mother’s way of preparing beef or chicken liver. She preferred beef liver with lots of onion sautéed in oil. Sometimes she added ground walnuts, but never eggs.

On occasion, melted chicken fat could be poured over pate, but mostly she used soft butter in the mix.

For my liver pate, I prefer to use calf liver or chicken liver.

Because liver has too much blood, it should be thoroughly washed, dried and salted before broiling, frying or grilling. After that I sprinkle pieces of liver with pepper and fry on both sides in olive oil. I let it cool down.

In the meantime I cut sweet onion and saute it in olive oil until golden in color. I use three big sweet onions for 2 pounds of liver.

When both liver and onion have cooled down, I grind them together adding a cup of walnuts. Then I mix the ground up ingredients well, adding one soft stick of butter and two tbs of cognac (don’t forget to sample the cognac as you cook).

I continue stirring until I get a homogeneous mixture. I sprinkle more walnuts on top and refrigerate it for a few hours. It tastes better the next day if it has not yet been eaten.

I serve it with  a crispy fresh baguette, toasted bread, Matzo, or crackers. And a shot of Porto, of course.

To your mental health!

 

P.S. All the food featured in this post has been prepared and photographed by me.