The second in our romantic series of the date night dinners, this time Sarah has cooked for Dave and she wrote this letter…..
Dear Noel,
Well, it took a little while to get our calendars together, however, we finally did, and Dave came around for dinner last night.
I was impressed by the quality of the meat he got from Eat Great Meat. The BBQ brisket was delicious, and Dave had obviously gone to a lot of effort to cook it, so it fell off the bone. I particularly liked the crispy meat.
As it was my turn, I immediately placed an order. Having read your blogs on organ meats and nutrition, I thought I’d have a try this recipe with lamb’s liver. I do know that liver is not to everyone’s taste, but I hope I judged Dave right and that he’s not afraid to try things.
Here is the recipe:
Sautéed Liver with Indian Spices
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, halved
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 serrano chilli, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cardamom pods—remove the seeds and crush, discard the pods
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup lamb or beef stock
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1lb lamb liver cut into 1 ½ -inch pieces.
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped coriander
This is how to make this recipe
In a food processor, add the finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, chilli, turmeric, cardamom and ½ tsp of black pepper. Add the water and pulse to make a soup-like paste.
In a medium frying pan, melt the butter. Add the soupy paste and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until almost dry, 5 minutes. Add the stock and simmer over low heat, stirring, until the sauce has thickened, takes around 8 minutes.
In another large non-stick pan, heat the oil. Season the liver with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until it has browned on the bottom, this took about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate, turn the liver and cook until medium-rare, again about 2 minutes.
Add the liver to the sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with the coriander and I served this with cauliflower rice, but you could have it with rice.
Dave duly arrived with a bottle of wine and some fine chocolates for afters. We had a little moment as he realised my place is a little larger than his. After sharing an awkward little cheek kiss, we settled down for our meal.
The wine was a Tempranillo and went alright with the sautéed liver, but it would have been better with a full-bodied wine, such as a Rioja. The liver held the spices and was not as strong tasting as you would expect. I was intrigued to learn that though Dave liked Indian spices, he had not cooked with them much. We had a good chat after dinner and I learnt a bit more about him. He likes watching films, so we are thinking of an evening at the cinema with dinner after. I think I am beginning to rather enjoy his company. He has asked me back to his flat next month, I have graciously accepted for now.
Yours sincerely
Sarah
