Ingredients
Scale
- 450g /1 lb of chicken livers, sliced into halves
- 2/3 teaspoon sea salt
- Generous pinch pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 leek, white and pale green part sliced
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of ghee, or butter if you tolerate it well
- 8–10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2–3 tablespoons dry cherry or port (optional but very nice)
- A few extra sprigs of thyme for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the chicken livers, remove any connective tissue from the meat, cut in halves, rinse and pat dry with paper towel, or leave to air-dry. Make sure the livers come to room temperature to ensure even cooking (take out of the fridge for 15 minutes). Sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper.
- Heat coconut oil, or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring a few times, until softened and golden brown. After 5 minutes, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, stir through and remove to a bowl.
- In a clean frying pan, heat ghee until hot and fry the thyme sprigs and garlic until just slightly golden brown. Remove the garlic and the thyme to a plate to prevent them from burning, but leave the infused ghee over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken livers to the hot pan with the ghee and fry for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. What you’re after is crispy and browned on the outside, yet soft and velvety on the inside. If you overcook the liver, it turns sandy and tough. Finally, add the dry cherry to deglaze the pan together with the livers (basically swirl it around on high heat so it bubbles away a little) and then add the leeks, garlic and thyme back to the pan and turn off the heat. Stir everything through and sprinkle with another pinch of salt and pepper, to taste really.