This is a change from the usual liver and onions. The liver must be veal’s.
First I dredge the thin slices of liver in flour and fry them in butter. I add salt and pepper. When cooked through, I add the juice of a lemon and a scant teaspoon of sugar. I cook another minute to create a nice sauce.
This is good with a thick slice of toasted bread.
This is a cold weather dish and had been planned for Saturday evening in the mountains, but we were invited to Vittorio’s for supper. So, it had to wait until we got home on Sunday night.
I roughly chop an onion and sauté it in a little oil with stewing veal. When the meat is browned, I sprinkle it with flour and cover with broth (boiling water and a teaspoon of vegetable stock granules). I add a strip of lemon peel to the pot, turn down the flame and cover. It simmers for an hour. I add stock if necessary. When the meat is tender, I add a half glass of fresh cream and cook for another 15 minutes. I add a good tablespoon of freshly chopped herbs ( marjoram or oregano or parsley) and check the seasoning.
This is nice with mashed potato or buttery rice or noodles. I often serve it with spaetzle, which is a quick way to make fresh pasta. However, you need the specific spaetzle grater (I think a potato ricer would work too). Per person, it’s 100gm of flour and an egg. Then add enough cold water to make it just pourable. You grate the mixture over a pan of salted boiling water and remove the spaetzle with a slotted spoon when they rise to the surface. (It only takes a minute or two.) You then dress them with melted butter and parmesan.
There is a version of this dish with tomatoes, but I prefer this one. I always serve it with a saffron risotto.
I flour the veal shin steaks and brown them in olive oil. I season and add a glass of white wine. When the wine has bubbled away I almost cover the steaks in stock ( boiling water and a half teaspoon of vegetable stock granules), bring to a boil, turn the flame down low and cover the pan. I cook for about an hour, remove the heat and reduce the sauce. At this stage, I add chopped parsley and lemon rind, turning the steaks a few times to coat them in the thick sauce.
The best bit of this warming dish is, of course, the bone marrow!
Cook's Tales 