Ingredients
| 5 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 2 medium onions, one finely sliced, one finely chopped | |
| 1 rib celery (preferable from the centre), finely chopped | |
| 3 tablespoons butter | |
| 11⁄2 cups vialone nano or Arborio rice | |
| 200ml dry white wine | |
| 1250ml well-flavoured chicken stock, heated | |
| 150g watercress, thick stems removed | |
| 500g chicken livers, cleaned and halved | |
| 50g parmesan, grated plus extra to serve | |
| 125ml Marsala or cream sherry | |
| 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard | |
| 1 tablespoon chopped sage |
This is a really traditional and delicious way to cook chicken livers, whose strong flavour is mellowed by the sweet, richness of Marsala wine, and they go beautifully with creamy risotto that has the peppery flavour of watercress to balance the rich livers.
Instructions
| 1. | Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over a medium-low heat in a large frying pan. |
| 2. | Fry the sliced onions with a sprinkle of salt for 20 minutes until soft and turning golden. Set the pan aside. |
| 3. | Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and gently cook the chopped onion and celery with a sprinkle of salt for 5 minutes without browning. |
| 4. | Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and melt, then add the rice and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the wine, raise the heat and bring to the boil, boiling until it is absorbed. |
| 5. | Turn down the heat and add the stock, half a cup at a time, stirring well with each addition until the stock is absorbed, then adding the next half cup. |
| 6. | This will take about 20 minutes and the risotto should be soupy when you are finished. |
| 7. | Set aside about 25g of the watercress for garnish, finely chop the rest and set aside. |
| 8. | Carefully sort through the livers, cut off any green specks of bile and pull away sinew and connective tissue and then gently rinse. |
| 9. | When the risotto is cooked, stir in the chopped watercress and parmesan, cover and leave while you finish off the livers. |
| 10. | Remove the cooked, sliced onions from the frying pan, raise the heat in the pan to hot and add the remaining tablespoon of oil and butter. |
| 11. | Add the livers, cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until just done (you want them still pink inside), then remove them to a warm plate. |
| 12. | Add the Marsala or sherry to the pan and bring to the boil, boil for a minute scraping the pan and stirring until reduced by half. |
| 13. | Return the livers to the pan with the onions, mustard, sage and some salt and pepper, and toss in the pan for 30 seconds. |
| 14. | Serve the chicken livers piled on top of the risotto, with a handful of watercress and grated parmesan. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith, Photography Aaron McLean, Styling Ellen J Hemmings, Drink pairings Peter Lowry
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