Chicken livers seared with mushrooms and red onion, served over zucchini noodles in garlic oil.
Chicken livers sizzle in the frying pan, seared on the outside and tender inside, alongside golden-edged mushrooms and lightly caramelized red onion. They sit on a nest of zucchini noodles warmed in garlic-infused olive oil. Allow 15 minutes for one serving. One to file alongside my keto main dishes.
What Are Chicken Livers ?
Poultry livers, here 125 g of organic, free-range chicken livers, are tender organ meats with a pronounced flavor that need only brief cooking. Seared for no more than 4 minutes, they stay tender ; any longer and they become grainy and dry.
This dish pairs them with 125 g of cremini mushrooms, a red onion, and half a zucchini cut into strands. Salt, pepper, and paprika season the livers, oregano joins them toward the end of cooking, and the finished dish has a deep flavor rich in umami.
The Inspiration Behind This Version
Pan-fried chicken livers with mushrooms and onions are a quick, inexpensive staple of home and bistro cooking. This version borrows the Italian idea of aglio e olio, garlic gently warmed in olive oil, and applies it to zucchini noodles rather than pasta.
The result is light and ready in fifteen minutes, in the spirit of these meals ready in 20 minutes. Serve it right away, while the mushrooms still have their golden edges and the zucchini retains its bite.
The Main Ingredients
Leave the livers whole or cut them into pieces that are easy to sauté. Pat them dry, place them on a clean paper towel, season both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika, then let them come to room temperature while you prepare the vegetables.
Halve the mushrooms, keeping the pieces large, as they shrink by about a third during cooking ; leave small ones whole. The red onion, first cooked until translucent and then over low heat, adds a lightly caramelized sweetness. For a lower-carb dish, cut back mainly on the onion, which contributes the most carbs along with the mushrooms.
Cut the zucchini half into strands using a food processor or mandoline, or slice it with a cheese plane and cut the slices into strips. Three to four pressed garlic cloves flavor a generous layer of extra-virgin olive oil ; heated gently, the oil does not burn and retains its polyphenols.
Cooking Tips and Serving
First, put the garlic and oil in a small saucepan over low heat : the garlic should warm through and flavor the oil without frying. In a very hot frying pan, sear the mushrooms over high heat in a little mild olive oil, then set them aside as soon as they are golden. Next, sauté the onion until translucent and let it caramelize lightly over low heat while the zucchini warms in the garlic oil, without turning up the heat.
Push the onion to one side, add a little oil if needed, and sear the livers for 2 minutes on one side, then 1 minute on the other. Return the mushrooms to the pan, add the oregano, stir together with the onion, and cook for one more minute. Arrange the zucchini in a small nest with a hollow in the center and place the livers in it.
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Chicken livers with mushrooms and garlic zucchini spaghetti
Print Recipe Pin the recipe Add to my listIngredients
- 125 g chicken livers organic, free-range
- 125 g cremini mushrooms
- 1 red onion
- 0.5 zucchini
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 0.5 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch black pepper
- Pinch salt pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
- olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Crush the garlic with a garlic press and add it to a generous layer of extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Let the garlic warm through and infuse the oil, without frying it. This keeps the oil from getting too hot: the polyphenols in the olive oil do not burn, so you can use extra virgin olive oil (I normally sauté in mild olive oil).3 to 4 cloves garlic, olive oil
- Leave the livers whole or cut them into pieces that are easy to sauté. Pat the livers dry with paper towels, then place them on a fresh paper towel and season both sides with the salt, pepper, and paprika. Let the livers come closer to room temperature while you prepare the vegetables.125 g chicken livers, Pinch salt, Pinch black pepper, 0.5 teaspoon paprika
- Cut the zucchini into thin strands. Chop the onion. Halve the mushrooms, keeping the pieces fairly large: a little bigger than bite-sized is just right. They will shrink as they cook. Leave small mushrooms whole.0.5 zucchini, 1 red onion, 125 g cremini mushrooms
- Heat the frying pan and add the mild olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms over high heat. They will develop lovely golden edges and shrink to about 2/3 of their original size. Remove them from the pan and set aside briefly. This keeps them from cooking too long and becoming slimy.
- First sauté the onions until translucent, then continue cooking over low heat until lightly caramelized.
- Next, add the zucchini to the saucepan with the oil and garlic. Mix well and let it warm through briefly. Keep the heat on low.
- Push the onions to the side of the pan, add a little more oil if needed, and cook the livers for 2 minutes on 1 side. Turn the livers over, cook for another 1 minute, then mix them with the onions, mushrooms, and oregano. Cook everything for about another minute. Cook the livers for no more than 4 minutes in total. Do not overcook them, or they will become grainy and dry.1 teaspoon oregano
- Remove the zucchini from the saucepan and arrange it in a small mound on the plate, with a well in the center. Place the livers in the well.
