Chicken Livers With Onions, Mushrooms and Peppers and Shhhh Pomegranate Syrup

I have found that there are certain foods that people either love or hate with no in between.  Amongst them are lamb, coriander and liver.  Personally, I love lamb, think coriander taste like soap (echh, yes I know that’s immature but there you go) and I adore chicken livers since they have a far more delicate flavor than beef liver.  I don’t make it all the time but when I do, DH and I can polish off quantities happily.  I buy them freshly broiled from my local butcher and quickly store them in the freezer if not using immediately since they are delicate and can go off easily.

Pretty much my favorite way of preparing them is a simple sautee with chopped onions and red, and if available, yellow peppers mixed together and regular and portobello mushrooms. I have served them on the “half shell” which makes a beautiful course, i.e. I prepare baked (or if in a hurry, microwaved – although not as tasty) potatoes and scoop out balls of the cooked halved potato which I incorporate into the liver melange and serve the halved baked potato with a sliver cut off the bottom so it sits properly on the plate, with a big scoop of the sauteed liver mixture on top.  This has great eye appeal and is good for Passover as well as all year round.

When making this for Shabbat, you can serve as is on a plate, or on a bed of rice.  For liver lovers, this is a dream come true.

Chicken Livers with Onions, Mushrooms and Peppers

serves 6 as an appetizer or 3 as a main

1/2 a kilo (1.1 pounds) of broiled (koshered) chicken livers

1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped coarsely

2-3 red and/or yellow peppers, julienned

3-4 cups of regular and portobello mushrooms, washed well, patted dry and sliced

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I prefer not using olive oil for this since it can overwhelm the chicken livers)

2 rounded tablespoons mushroom soup powder

1/3 cup of wine (red or white as you prefer)

a bit of salt

and , my secret ingredient, a drizzle of Pomegranate syrup  – this can be found much more easily than once in a good supermarket.  This can also be your nod to Rosh Hashana and Rimon!

Take the livers and cut into large chunks, set aside.  Take a large frying pan and put in oil.  Bring oil to sizzle and toss in onions.  Lower heat to medium and sautee till dark golden but not quite brown.  Throw in peppers and mushrooms and cook till somewhat reduced.  Carefully sprinkle mixture with soup powder (crumbling finely between your fingers so no lumps remain) and toss all together till soup powder is incorporated and cook for a few minutes till quite thick.   Add chunked liver.  Pour in the wine slowly and stir stir stir till a nice creamy sauce develops – not too thick, not too thin (you can add extra wine if needed to thin out a bit).  Drizzle with pomegranate syrup which has a sweet/sour flavor and is concentrated so you don’t need too much.  Cook another minute or so till all comes together in a heavenly scent and looks properly sauced.  Of course, this is awesome eaten immediately but does surprisingly well when reheated for Shabbat or Holidays.  As mentioned above, you can serve this on the “half shell” of a potato for a very spiffy presentation, on a bed of rice, as is on a plate or over a puff pastry square or filo pastry cup.  I find that a small scoop of rice which absorbs some of the sauce works best for me.