Sticky Chicken Livers for Lockdown Lucy

The one universal truth about lockdown is that being apart from our friends and family is the absolute pits. For me, the first eight weeks were the worst but what help me through, week on week, were the Zoom chats with nearest and dearest.

Every Thursday, 6pm on the dot, Lucy, Simon, Stuart and I hold a virtual chat with real drinks in hand (sherry for Lucy, G&T for the boys, boxed wine for me) and laugh our way through the whole lockdown experience.

This recipe is for Lucy as she is the only one of my friends who eats liver; when we eat at mine it’s usually liver and onions, if we out, it’s chicken in a basket from Côte. We’re all class. We have been for the 27 years we’ve known each other.

This is a super simple recipe, yet it packs a huge punch. The smoked paprika brings an earthy sweetness while the dash of chilli brings a little fire. It’s best served on crunchy buttered sourdough or with plain rice. Whatever you serve it with, make sure you have it to hand as this is a really quick cook.

Music to prepare this dish to: ‘Un Point C’est Toi’ by Zazie

Ingredients

• 400g Chicken livers, cut into medium sized pieces
• 1 Onion really finely chopped (like grated fine)
• 1 tbsp Mixed herbs
• 1.5 tbsp Smoked paprika
• ½ tsp Chilli flakes
• 50g Butter
• Glug vegetable oil
• Splash Full fat milk
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan and fry off the onion and mixed herbs. Season well with your salt and pepper.
2. After 5 minutes add the paprika and chilli flakes and mix into the onions. Once mixed, add your splash of milk to get a medium thickness paste consistency. Cook down for a few minutes and remove from the pan.
3. In the same pan, add your glug of oil. Once hot, add your chicken livers and cook for a good four minutes.
4. After four minutes, add your sticky sweet onion pulp mix and coat well, ramp up the heat and cook for a further three minutes.
5. After three minutes, your livers should be cooked (best test one to be sure). Pour onto your toast and enjoy.

This is quite a rich dish and works well with a rosé. You can try French, but the Syrosa Maremma Toscana is an Italian beauty that deserves its time in the limelight. It really cuts through the earthy, buttery richness.