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Simple melt in the mouth calves liver recipe

calves liver with spinach and champI found some calves liver knocked down to half price in Waitrose last weekend and bunged it in the freezer. Danny is a big eater and normally I’d have to shell out over seven quid for the two of us at full price. Generally my trolley wheels glide hopefully up to the calves liver section only to spin silently towards the sausages. It was the first time in five years that I found enough calves liver for under £3.50. I was jubilant as I swung the carrier through the front door. I knew that Danny wasn’t impressed but he was too polite to say.

Last night everything changed.

Sometimes the simplest recipe is best if you are lucky to find really good meat. It was Danny’s turn to cook.
“These slices of liver are so thin,” he held them gingerly and examined the back of the pack for the cooking method. His nose also pointed to the cookery books in the kitchen. His final recipe was a combination of the pack instructions and the Gary Rhodes tip – point 4.

When he took the first mouthful he twinkled and nodded and slowed right down to savour the combination of tastes. Soft calves liver, with fresh spinach and champ (creamed potatoes with spring onion). A perfect combination.

Simple calves liver recipe (for 2 greedy people)

Ingredients:

  • 300g of calves liver (our liver was 0.5 centimetres thick)
  • 25g of butter
  • 2 tblsp of olive oil
  • 2 tblsp of seasoned flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan at a medium heat (D cooked it at 4 (we have a 0-10 knob setting).
  2. Meanwhile coat the calves liver in well seasoned flour.
  3. When the oil is warm fry the calves liver for 2 minutes.
  4. Add 25g of butter, let it melt for 20 seconds ( this is recommended by Gary Rhodes – not adding the butter at the beginning)
  5. Turn the liver and season the cooked side with salt and pepper.
  6. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
  7. Serve on warm plates A good rounded Rioja is great with this.

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12 Comments

  1. Michele Powell

    I bought some rose veal liver for the first time. Love lambs liver morrisons didnt have lambs so I’m giving these a go today

    • Fiona Nevile

      Lucky you! A completely different experience than lambs liver – a real foodie treat. I also love lambs liver too!

  2. Thanks so much for this – just ate the exact same dish (champ, spinach, calves liver) and it was tremendous 🙂

  3. Lynne Woodward

    Have you tried pig’s cheeks from Morrisons? Best ever taste baked slowly with onion,carrot,garlic,red wine and thyme in the oven, yum.even better £1.60 for 4 last week, enough for 2 with mash and veggies.

  4. Ahhh, can taste it now, didn’t realise Tesco had such good reductions, I always miss out.
    They must be certain times that they reduce items, guess I’ll have to vary the times at which I go, unless there’s ant other suggestions to best time to go for reductions.
    Lv Odelle X.

    • Fiona Nevile

      Hi Odelle

      The CFC bargains often depend on the area that you live in and the supermarket competition. In Newmarket, Waitrose and Tesco are very competitive – this evening Waitrose had a banner announcing that they have price matched loads of Tesco prices around the store. Tesco is targeting some of their marketing at the higher income brackets – so if these ‘Finest’ items are not sold they are put on the CFC as well as loads of other stuff. Newmarket Tesco’s CFC is usually pretty full whatever the time of day but the best bargains are after seven in the evening. The next Tesco – just outside Cambridge – is much bigger but the CFC is not a patch on ours and the Waitrose reductions in Cambridge are much less than in the Newmarket branch.

    • Maureen Darby

      My very well heeled friends go to Tesco on Saturday evening for cut price food even though they could well afford the full price.

  5. I have just been into our local Waitrose (Sevenoaks) and was told they no longer sell calves liver. Never thought I’d say this, but I better check out Tesco!

  6. Big Texas Butters

    Just bought some calves liver at half price at Tesco (£2) – I’m going to try it with some globe artichokes fresh from the allotment.

  7. Rhubarb

    Ha! Liked the article! I also slink down the aisle coyly looking for reduced stickers on the nicer meat options. And I too found some reduced calves’ liver in Waitrose the other night. Fried some cold new potatoes, then the liver, then put a handful of spinach leaves on top and left for a couple of minutes. MMMmmm.

  8. Fiona Nevile

    Wow!

    I didn’t know that Tesco sold calves livers.

  9. Peter Welch

    HI
    Just thought id mention, i went in to our local tescos the other day and in the reduced section i got some calves livers at…63p…!!! reduced from £4.30… i couldnt believe it…

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