Foie de Veau à l’Espagnole

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large 12-inch (30 cm) ridged cast-iron grill pan or stovetop griddle
• •Deep 10-inch (25 cm) skillet
• •Splatter screen and long tongs
• •Small rimmed broiler-safe sheet pan
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the whole stove

   Place an oven rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the broiler and heat it. Set a wire rack over a tray for the fried garnishes, and put an oval serving platter nearby. Separate the onion slices into intact roundels, pat the liver dry, and return the liver to the cold. Divide the flour between two shallow dishes, one for the onions and one for the raw liver, so the onion flour stays clean. Keep roughly half the measured salt and pepper for the liver. Mise en place is the first technique here: once the liver meets the pan, nothing else may ask for your attention.

2. 2

   Grill the tomatoes

   Set the tomato halves cut side up on a small rimmed sheet pan. Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Broil until their shoulders brown, their cut faces gleam, and the flesh softens without collapsing, 5 to 7 minutes. The broiler is the home equivalent of the salamander that handled this garnish in a classical kitchen. Lower the oven to 200°F (95°C) and hold the tomatoes cut side up for no more than 20 minutes.

3. 3

   Fry the parsley

   Pour ¾ cup (180 ml / 165 g) of the olive oil into a deep 10-inch (25 cm) skillet and heat it to about 350°F (175°C). Check once more that the parsley is completely dry, then lower it into the oil in small handfuls with long tongs. Fry for 10 to 15 seconds, just until the leaves turn crisp and deep green, then lift them to the wire rack and season with a pinch of salt. If the oil spits hard, slide the pan off the heat and shield it with a splatter screen; water on the parsley is the culprit, so dry the remaining sprigs before continuing.

4. 4

   Crisp the onions

   Bring the oil back to about 340°F (170°C). Season the onion roundels lightly, dredge them in their separate dish of flour, and shake away every loose veil of flour. Fry in uncrowded batches, turning once, until pale gold and crisp at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Drain them on the wire rack. If they brown before they crisp, the oil is too fierce; lower the heat and let the centres finish gently. Hold them uncovered in the low oven only while the liver cooks.

5. 5

   Grill the liver

   Heat a large ridged cast-iron grill pan over medium heat until thoroughly hot but not smoking. Season the liver with the remaining salt and pepper, dredge each slice in the reserved clean flour, and shake it well. Sprinkle both sides with the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) olive oil. Grill gently without pressing, about 2 minutes on the first side and 1½ to 2 minutes on the second, until the flour coating is bronze, the liver is just firm, and the centre reaches 160°F (71°C). Work in two batches if the pan crowds, holding the first briefly on the warm platter. If the flour darkens before the centre is ready, move the slice to a cooler edge and lower the heat. If one goes a shade too far, ça se rattrape: rest it, slice it thinly across the grain, and let the tomato juices moisten it at the table. Do not put it back in the pan.

6. 6

   Build the platter

   Arrange the four liver slices in a line along the centre of the warm oval platter, exactly as the preparation intends. Place one grilled tomato half upon each slice, heap the crisp onion roundels on one side, and set the fried parsley on the other. Spoon any juices from the tomato pan over the tomatoes, not over the onions. There is no added sauce and none is missing. Carry the platter straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for pale rose-brown calf’s liver cut into four even slices, each about ⅜ inch (1 cm) thick, with the outer membrane removed. Uneven slices are harder to grill together, and timing is the whole dish.
• •Choose firm tomatoes that smell ripe at the stem but still hold their shape. If large tomatoes are woolly out of season, use four ripe plum tomatoes and halve them lengthwise; canned tomatoes cannot stand in for the grilled halves this plate requires.
• •Use a mild, fruity olive oil that tolerates frying without turning bitter. Oil is not a substitute for butter here. It sets the character of the tomatoes, onions, parsley, and liver, so changing the fat changes the dish.
• •A lightly chilled Beaujolais with fresh acidity sits comfortably beside liver and tomato. Cooked liver does not improve overnight; refrigerate any remainder within 2 hours, keep it no longer than 1 day, and eat it thinly sliced rather than cooking it hard a second time.

Advance Preparation

• •Up to 4 hours ahead, trim and dry the liver, wash and thoroughly dry the parsley, halve the tomatoes, and slice the onions. Refrigerate each separately. Do not season or dredge the liver or onions until their pans are ready.
• •The tomatoes and fried parsley may be finished about 20 minutes before the liver. Fry the onions as close to serving as possible, and cook the liver last; it cannot be held without surrendering the tenderness the whole preparation is built to protect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)