Winter

Venician Style Liver – Fegato alla Veneziana

January 21, 2010
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This liver recipe is probably one of Venice’s most well known and typical dish. Go round the streets of Venice and you’ll see in all the restaurant menus Fegato alla Veneziana. Obviously if you ask for the recipe, each family has a different version, either with white wine, or with red wine, or with rosemary, and theirs will undoubtedly be the very best! Well, I also have my version and this is the one I make at home. —Maria Teresa Jorge

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Ingredients
  • 22 ounces calf’s liver, deveined and trimmed, cut in slices
  • 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 5 medium sweet onions
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped very finely
  • salt
  • pepper freshly ground
Directions
  1. Clean and devein the liver and cut in thin slices. Then cut each slice into strips.
  2. Cut the onion in very thin slices (using a mandolin is really easy and quick, just watch your fingers!).
  3. In a heavy pan with a tight fitting lid, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil. Add the onions, stir well and allow to sweat, over low heat, covered, for 45 minutes. Stir from time to time so they don’t stick or burn. They should remain pale and the water in the onion will cook the onion and leave it sweet and soft. Remove the onions from the pan leaving behind the fat. Keep them warm.
  4. Sauté the liver in this fat, very quickly - maximum 1 minute so they are a little pink inside, otherwise they get tough and chewy. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and add to the onions. Keep warm.
  5. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and stir well.
  6. Add the onions and liver back in the pan, mix in the parsley and check the seasoning.
  7. Serve immediately with grilled cooked polenta or potato purée.

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4 Reviews

nogaga May 25, 2011
This recipe looks just wonderful. I've been looking for a great recipe for fegato alla salvia. How do you think this would go with fresh sage?
Maria T. May 25, 2011
Hi Nogaga, as I mentioned, each family have their own recipe. They might use rosemary, sage, bay leaf. So sage would be spot on, for its mild taste, so not too overwhelming like bay leaf. It would be my top choice of herb.
Thank you for your comment.
ccolbert January 26, 2011
Just found this recipe and wanted to tell you that it was absolutely delicious!
Maria T. May 25, 2011
Coolbert, sorry I only saw your post now. I am so happy it came out good, it's one of those dishes that with good calf's liver is unbeatable.
Many thanks for having commented.