Albanian Liver

I can understand why the boy is unsure about this, but it is good. The secret to cooking liver is not to do it well done like his mum did. Cook it on a high heat so it’s crusty and brown on the outside and tender and pink in the middle and he loves it.

450g lambs liver

2tbsp plain flour

1tbsp paprika plus more to garnish

A good glug olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

200ml thick Turkish yoghurt

Salt & pepper

Slice the liver to get the longest strips you can – about 2cm wide. Mix the flour with the paprika, salt and pepper. I’m using smoked paprika, though I’m also adding a pinch of cayenne. Coat the liver very well. There is a little bit left over, which the boy’s cat gets. Much purring.

Heat about 4tbsp oil in a heavy based pan and fry the floury liver strips. You will need to do this in batches but for no more than three minutes so they don’t overcook and get tough. Let them rest which will bring them closer to warm, rather than hot, which is what you want.

Fry the onion in the same pan, increasing the heat to brown them. You will need more oil and stir it a lot scraping the flour from the bottom. You want the onion to brown.

Make a salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, sliced black and green olives (two thirds black, one third green) and chopped flat leaf parsley and mint. It’s dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, and seasoned.

Serve the livers covered with the onions and with a big spoonful of yoghurt on top. Sprinkle over more paprika (I’m using the sweet kind this time) and a drizzle of oil. The boy has found some fresh French bread so we’re having that with it.

Turns out he really does like liver. He insists this is not like liver though.