Food on Film - Silence of the Lambs Liver
I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti. Ftftftftftftftf.
Possibly one of the most famous movie quotes of all time, it’s only fitting that we dedicate our Main Course recipe feature to this dish, although we swapped human liver for that of a lamb for obvious reasons. Liver isn’t everyone's cup of tea, but it’s straightforward to prepare and relatively cheap, so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Fava beans are broad beans and are in season right now, so it’s a perfect time to have a friend for dinner. Unfortunately, Hannibal didn’t share the method for his signature dish, so we’ll just have to make it up. While cooking liver is an easily interpreted method, the man-eater did not indicate how he prepped his beans, so I’ve decided to make a fava bean dressing which is sharp and light to cut through the gamey liver yet keep the fresh flavour of in-season beans. Don’t forget the Chianti, and remember the lotion goes in the basket, or else it gets the hose.
Serves 4
For the livers;
500g fresh lambs liver, sliced into 1cm thick medallions
100g plain flour for dusting
50g butter for frying
Salt & pepper
For the mash;
400g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
100g butter
100ml full-fat milk
Salt & pepper
For the dressing
2 banana shallots, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
4 ripe plum tomatoes
200g fresh fava beans, removed from pods but shells left on
100ml extra virgin olive oil
30ml balsamic vinegar
A handful of parsley, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
Method;
First, Prepare the dressing. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and quickly blanch the beans in their shells for 2 minutes before transferring to ice water to refresh. Once cooled, drain and peel the shells off the pods and discard the shells. In the same pot of boiling water, very quickly dunk the tomatoes in the boiling water and immediately transfer them to ice water – this will make them easy to peel the outer skin. Once cool, peel the outer skin, cut into ¼, remove the seeded membrane and finely dice the flesh. Heat the extra virgin oil gently in a medium saucepan and remove from the heat when hot but not bubbling hot. Add the diced shallots and garlic and allow these to slowly cook in the warm oil – about 5 minutes. Next, add the beans, diced tomato, chopped parsley, and balsamic and season to taste. This dressing is similar to a sauce vierge and will also work well with a piece of pan-fried fish
Make the mash by boiling the potatoes in a large saucepan of lightly salted water. Once cooked, drain and allow to steam for 5 minutes before mashing. Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan and mix through the potatoes. Season to taste and set aside until serving.
Heat a frying pan over high heat, lightly dust the liver fillets with flour and season with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the pan and when foaming, cook the livers for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the pan and allow to rest.
To Serve:
Spoon a quenelle of mash on each plate, then place a slice of liver on each, drizzle the dressing around each plate, serve and make the ftftftftftftftftftft sound throughout the meal like an idiot.
All Images by Steve Ryan https://steveryanphotography.com/