Liver loaf

Deb March 18, 2007

This is a variation on the meatloaf recipe. It still has a liver flavour, but is more appealing to those who don’t like the texture of liver.

  • 250gm (9oz) lamb liver, finely diced, as small as possible
  • 250gm (9oz) lamb or beef mince
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 75ml (5 Tbs) kefir **
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs from homemade bread
    •  OR – ½ cup basic brown rice (see lesson 9)
    •  OR – if you are totally grain intolerant or low carb, use ½ cup ground nuts or seeds
    •  OR – you can leave it out totally, it will still work
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 rounded tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp chilli seasoning mix, ground pepper, or cayenne

In the morning, mix the finely diced liver and the lemon juice together in one bowl, and the mince and kefir together in another. Marinate in the fridge all day, stirring from time to time if possible.

Note: ** If you don’t have kefir, just marinate the liver, and add a little cream or stock to the mixture later, if needed, to get the right texture.

Beat together the egg and seasonings, and mix with the breadcrumbs, rice or ground nuts. Sauté the onion and garlic in a little butter. Mix the mince, liver, egg mix and vegetables together in a large food processor till it starts to resemble raw sausage meat.

Press into a lined loaf or ring tin and bake for half an hour at 175C (350F). After half an hour, drain off the excess liquid and cook for another 15 mins. Turn off the oven and let sit in the oven for 15 mins before serving.

Liver is very rich, so needs some serving contrasts:

  • The sweetness of pumpkin or root vegetables, roasted or in a pile of buttery mash. (Variation: After draining the loaf, cover the top with some mashed pumpkin or kumera, and dot with butter, then continue cooking.)
  • A bowl of crisp, fresh salad or a large spoonful of sauerkraut (lesson 11) or kimchi
  • A spoonful of cultured cream or garlic feta dressing (lesson 12)

If you’ve got leftovers:

  • For breakfast – panfry thin slices in butter, bacon fat or coconut oil, and serve with toast or hash browns, fried eggs and slices of tomato
  • For lunch – Put in a sandwich with mesclun greens, sliced tomato or red pepper and some garlic feta dressing

Variations:

  • Pan fry spoonfuls as patties
  • If even this is too “livery” for your taste, make it with more lamb mince and less liver. Then gradually decrease the mince and increase the liver.
  • Add some finely diced, crispy bacon. Look for a nitrate free, organic bacon, made with natural sweetener. Cook the bacon up before the vegetables, then fry the veges in the bacon fat, instead of butter.