LIVER & BACON WITH ONIONS & GRAVY

• servings: SERVES 4

Ingredients

450g lambs' liver, sliced and fully thawed if frozen

25g butter

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp plain flour

1 onion, peeled, halved lengthways and sliced

125g rindless streaky bacon rashers, each cut into 4-5 pieces

1 beef stock cube

500ml just-boiled water

1-2 tsp tomato ketchup

sea salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Rinse the liver in a colander under cold water and drain well on kitchen paper. Melt half the butter with the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat.

Put a tablespoon of the flour in a large bowl and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Add half the liver to the bowl and toss lightly in the flour to coat. Place each slice carefully in the hot fat and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly browned but not completely cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Toss the remaining liver in the seasoned flour and brown in the pan as before. Transfer to the same plate as the first batch.

Reduce the heat and melt the remaining butter in the same pan. Add the sliced onion and cook for a minute or so, stirring to separate the layers. Next, add the bacon and cook together for 8-10 minutes or until the onion is pale golden brown and the bacon is beginning to crisp. Stir often.

Sprinkle the rest of the flour over the onion and bacon and stir it for a minute or so. Dissolve the stock cube in the just-boiled water and pour slowly into the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook over a medium heat until the gravy is thickened. Add a dash of tomato ketchup and season with salt and pepper.

Return the liver to the pan with the onion gravy for just 1-2 minutes to warm it through and finish cooking. Serve the liver and bacon with some mash and freshly cooked greens.

Notes

A great dish that mums used to cook every week when we were young. This is best made with lambs' liver, but if you're feeling posh, use calves' liver instead and simmer the onions with a good slurp of marsala wine instead of making a traditional gravy.