Erica De Mane

Dead Chicken, by Chaim Soutine.

Recipe: Chicken Liver Salad with Escarole, Capers and Sage Croutons

I was thrilled recently when I taught my students  to cook up a few chicken liver recipes and got good vibes from the group. I  heard comments like, “Oh, I just love chicken livers.” They were sincere, too, I discovered. When I had a few extra livers left in the sauté pan after the demo, some of the students rushed up to our little stage to fork them up, right out of the pan. Don’t underestimate the passion of middle-class Upper Westsiders, as I first learned during my octopus cleaning and cooking class. They get into it. Teaching can be a humbling experience.

Speaking of chicken livers, at the top of my list of favorite winter salads you’d find ones that include crisp, high-heat-sautéed chicken livers, left pink in the middle and finished with a dash of grappa or brandy. That wasn’t something in the recipes I recently did for my class, but it was something I wanted very badly for dinner last night.

The key to any composed salad is to keep it clean. Refrain from using too many flavors, and make the dressing simple (nothing creamy, for instance). If you’re adding hot ingredients, such as sausage, sautéed shrimp, or chicken livers, chose greens that won’t wilt under the heat (arugula, for one, melts with a drip of warm oil). Frisée and escarole are good choices.

For this salad I pulled some flavors from the classic Tuscan chicken liver pâté, a dish I did make for my class (you can find my recipe here). I included capers, sage, a splash of grappa, and coarse black pepper, which is very important for both flavor and texture.

It’s been very cold this week. Many people think of eating baked ziti or polenta when the weather gets rugged. Try this salad instead. You’ll discover what a comfort it can be.

Chicken livers sautéed with capers and grappa, salad-ready.

Chicken Liver Salad with Escarole, Capers, and Sage Croutons

(Serves 2)

1 small head escarole, torn into pieces
1 small shallot, very thinly sliced
2 slices day-old Italian bread, the crust left on, cut into 1-inch cubes
Unsalted butter
Salt
2 fresh sage leaves, chopped
A few big thyme sprigs, the leaves stemmed
1 teaspoon Spanish sherry vinegar
The grated zest from 1 small lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
½ pound organic chicken livers, cleaned, cut into lobes, and well dried
A generous pinch of sugar
Coarsely ground black pepper
A small palmful of Sicilian salt-packed capers, soaked and rinsed and dried
A tiny splash of grappa

Put the escarole in a salad bowl, and scatter on the shallot.

In a small sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the bread cubes, season with salt, and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the sage, and pull the pan from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, thyme, lemon zest, and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, seasoning with salt.

In a medium sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. When the oils are hot, add the chicken livers, sprinkling them with the pinch of sugar and spreading them out in the pan. Let them brown without moving them around, about a minute or so. Turn them over with tongs, season them with salt and coarse black pepper, and brown them on the other side, about a minute or so longer. Be a little careful, as they can spit at you. When the livers are well browned but still pink at the center, add the grappa and the capers, and let bubble for a few seconds (the pan will probably flame up, so stand back so you don’t melt off your eye lashes). Add the chicken livers and all the pan juices to the salad bowl. Pour on the dressing, add a few grinds of coarse black pepper, and toss gently. Add the croutons, and toss very quickly. Serve right away.