Spicy fried chicken livers

This is a really simple way to cook chicken livers. Unfortunately, it can be quite hard to get fresh chicken liver in the UK, and the frozen ones are only good for making pate with. It’s important not to overcook the liver, otherwise it goes leathery – like a good steak, it should still be slightly pink.

   

Ingredients

250g fresh chicken livers

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon salt

flour

olive oil 

Method

1. Pat the liver dry with kitchen paper, remove any fatty tissue and cut each liver into three pieces.
2. Put the liver in a bowl, sprinkle with chilli powder, cumin and salt, and rub in well. If you have time, cover the bowl and leave to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
3. Coat the chicken livers in flour.
4. Heat plenty of oil in a large frying pan. (If you don’t have a spatter guard, then make sure you use a pan with a lid, as the livers tend to spit.)
5. Carefully add the floured pieces to the pan, cook for a couple of minutes, until brown and crispy, then turn and cook for another minute or two.
6. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen paper before serving.

I was brought up to regard liver as being quite unpleasant (although I happily ate both pate and chopped liver). It was only when I left home that I realised what I had been missing.

For this dish, you can replace the spices with a mix if you like.