FEGATO VENEZIANO

THIS WAS originally a post from October 2013 and could now be called the Dog Days of July. 

THE LAST FEW DAYS have been utter nonsense in New York. It hasn't felt like October at all. The mercury hit 85º on Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday were harbingers of more humidity and a piddly rain storm which made it all the more tropical. The air still lingers with a thickness that precludes any sort of ambitious cooking. 

I wanted to make Lady Fingers today and try though I might, even with the air-conditioner on full tilt, my egg whites wouldn't stiffen. So much for making a fabulous dessert or a torta con mascarpone e cioccolata. They were the sorriest lady fingers I ever made and are more suitable for dipping in espresso than dessert. 

On to something less ambitious, or is it?

Fegato alla Veneziana

There are two schools of thought here: to dredge in flour or not. The Harry's Bar Cookbook does not dredge their Fegato in flour. Other cookbooks do. It's all a matter of taste, really. The one drawback with the flour is that you must wipe the pan clean of all burnt floury residue after frying the liver to proceed with the recipe. This in itself isn't such a big deal but it is an extra step which takes a little bit of time and doesn't agree with the idea of being able to retain all of the flavors already accumulated in the pan. It's a personal choice. I have included the dredging step herein but feel free to omit it; especially if you're a gluten-free person.

3 large onions sliced very thin

3 tbs. olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

Nutmeg

1-2 lb. Calves Liver (cut into 1/2 inch slices*, 1/4 inch thick and dredged in flour - approximately 1 lb. for 3 servings, 2 lb. for 6 servings)

3 tbs. unsalted butter

1 bunch flat Italian parsley chopped extra fine

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sweat the onions in a covered pan for about 15 minutes to soften and render their juices and continue to sauté the onions uncovered over a low flame for about 45 minutes. Stir often You want them to become extremely soft and acquire an amber color. Salt and pepper to taste. When finished sautéing the onions, add half the wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the pan and keep warm. 

Add more oil to the pan and sauté the liver over moderately high heat. Salt and pepper to taste and add a few dashes of nutmeg. You want the liver to take on a crispy crust while the pieces cook. When the liver is done (about 3-4 minutes), remove from the pan and add the pieces to the plate with the onions. Deglaze the pan with the rest of the wine, add the butter and half the parsley. Swirl around the pan until the butter is completely melted and incorporated with the parsley and then pour the contents of the plate with the liver and onions back into the pan and mix well.

Serve immediately with the whitest polenta you can find or mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes (dressed with butter and the other half of the chopped parsley) or even gnocchi or a wide buttered noodle such as pappardelle. The last time I made this, I served it with a salad of wax beans, cucumber and shallots with little bits of pickled red pepperoncini and garlic. Delicious!

*Holding the liver flat with one hand, carefully cut the liver lengthwise into long strips and then cut them in half.