Let's cook kuchmachi!
It was a long road for me to learn to like liver. However, during a trip to Georgia (the former Soviet country, not the US state), we ordered a liver dish that I could eat without holding my nose and swallowing it down with water while grimacing. I'd even go further and say that I finally found a liver dish that I liked.
You might wonder, why go through the trouble of learning to accept liver? Well, because it is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. It's good for everybody and especially beneficial for women.
Follow me on my journey through last week's Sunday cooking!
Start by giving the liver and heart a rinse under running cold water, washing off excessive blood. I use approximately 700 grams of meat, with around 500 grams being liver. Honestly, I never weigh it, and the ratio always depends on what I have at home, so feel free to experiment and find the balance that works best for you. Cut it into 1-2 cm cubes, or to your liking. This time, I'm using lamb liver because that's what I found in the freezer, but usually, I use cow liver as well as cow heart.
Fry it up in a generous amount of butter. Most recipes recommend using oil, but I prefer using butter or ghee for frying. However, feel free to use what you prefer!
Once the meat has acquired some color, add 150 milliliters of water and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.
So, now the magic happens! I brought home several of these two spice mixes from Tbilisi. They are crucial for achieving the right taste. As always, you can make the spice mix yourself if you can't find it in your local exotic supermarket.
Take about 1 teaspoon of each and add them to a small bowl.
Then take about 1 teaspoon of dried basil and 0.5 teaspoon of ground coriander (or grind your own), and add them to the same bowl.
In the bowl where you've added the spices, now pour about 150 ml of white wine and stir it around.
Oops, I almost forgot the garlic. Why do I always do that? Anyway, add two cloves of garlic. I usually press them for simplicity, but feel free to chop them up finely or grate them if you prefer.
If you like your food a bit spicy I recommend adding some finely chopped hot pepper to this mix as well.
Now, take one big yellow onion or two smaller ones. I usually chop it up, but this time I wanted to try slicing it. However, I think I prefer it chopped into small pieces, so I recommend that to you.
Fry it until it's golden in a pan with butter or your preferred cooking oil.
Add the onions to the liver and heart mixture that has been simmering on low heat while you prepared the rest.
Mix it well and let it cook for a few minutes.
Then add the wine and spice mixture and cook it for 10 minutes.
Here you might want to add some salt, give it a taste and see.
In the meantime, prepare the topping!
Chop up some cilantro.
Cut and prepare a pomegranate. Isn't this one of the most beautiful fruits we have? Sometimes it's really expensive to buy these in Sweden, so next time, I'll try using a fresh local apple to make the dish more budget- and enviromentally-friendly.
I believe it should work if the apple is crispy, sweet, and has a tangy twist!
Enjoy! I love to serve it with oven-roasted potatoes and carrots.
You need:
* liver, 500 gr
* heart, 200 gr
* water, 150 ml
* white wine, 150 ml
* dry basil
* coriander (ground or seeds)
* georgian spice mixes utsko suneli and khmeli suneli
* yellow onion, 1-2
* butter or oil for frying
* pomegranate
* fresh cilantro