ItalianVenetian
Venetian-Style Liver
A classic Venetian recipe of milk-fed veal liver sautéed with sweet onions, butter, parsley, and a touch of vinegar. Chef Max Mariola shows how to make it perfectly tender and sweet, serving it either on a plate or as a delicious sandwich with scamorza cheese.
Ingredients
12 items- Sweet Onionse.g. Montoro onions
- Butterfor cooking the onions
- Milk-Fed Veal Livermilk-fed veal liver, sliced
- Flourfor dusting the liver
- Clarified Butterfor searing the liver
- Parsleyfresh, chopped
- Vinegara few drops (white wine vinegar or similar)
- Saltto taste
- Pepperblack pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- Scamorza(optional) — soft scamorza cheese, sliced (for sandwich)
- Bread(optional) — slices of bread, toasted (for sandwich)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil(optional) — a drizzle, if desired
Method
- Choose a sweet onion, such as Montoro onion, and slice it as thinly as possible.
- Melt a knob of regular butter in a non-stick pan over low heat. Add the sliced onions, season with a pinch of salt, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions become very soft and almost jam-like.
- While the onions cook, prepare the milk-fed veal liver: trim any membranes, pat dry with paper towels, and lightly coat the liver slices in flour, shaking off excess.
- Heat a separate pan with clarified butter over high heat. When the butter is hot and shimmering, sear the liver slices quickly – about 10 seconds per side – until golden brown but still pink inside. Remove from heat immediately.
- Chop a small handful of fresh parsley, reserving the stems for stock if desired.
- When the onions are fully softened, add the seared liver to the onion pan. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, a grind of black pepper, and a few drops of vinegar. Toss gently to combine.
- Serve immediately on a plate as is, or optionally use the liver and onions to fill a sandwich with slices of scamorza cheese and toasted bread.