How to Make a Stunningly Memorable Salad

Here’s a cheeky salad!

The nice thing about warm chicken liver salad is you can eat it anytime, whatever the weather. And besides looking wonderfully bright and cheerful, it has a variety of tastes and textures putting it in a league of it’s own as a salad to remember.

Chicken livers are a good and unusual addition to salads. They are absurdly cheap and an excellent source of protein. Cook them lightly in butter and garlic and you will be rewarded with a soft, juicy texture that melts in your mouth. Overcook them and they will be tough, dry and disappointing.

For a kaleidoscope of tastes as well as visual impact, use a variety of salad leaves. Bitters work extremely well here, so include some radicchio, endive, chicory and rocket. Texture is all important too, so make sure you add a stick or two of finely sliced celery.

And for the finishing touch, scatter over some crisp, buttery croutons. Lastly, bring the salad together with a snappy dressing,

A classic French dressing works perfectly well here, but if you want a truly memorable salad, drizzle the leaves with some ‘Shanghai Dressing for a real a taste sensation.

Warm Chicken Liver Salad

Here’s What You Do:

Trim the livers, removing any sinewy membranes.

Finely chop a clove or two of garlic.

Tip the prepared salad leaves into a bowl.

Heat equal quantities of butter and olive oil in a frying pan and place over a medium heat (just enough to to spoon over the livers without them swimming in it.)

When the butter is foaming, slip the livers into the pan with the chopped garlic and fry 1 minute on each side (chicken livers are delicate so best served lightly browned but still pink inside.)

Tip onto the salad leaves and season with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Swirl some Shanghai dressing around the frying pan to collect any juices and pieces of garlic then pour over the salad. Top with croutons.

Lastly, throw on a handful of fresh chives, stand back and admire the glorious colours and repeat after me… “Oooh You Are Offal But I Like You!”

Shanghai Dressing

Serving Size: 120ml

Shelf Life: 4 weeks in fridge

Ingredients:

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp Yutaka mirin **

2 tbsp Amoy light soy sauce

1 small clove garlic or 1 tsp pureed garlic from tube

A� tsp fresh chilli or pureed from tube or a pinch of chilli flakes

** available from larger supermarkets

Here’s What You Do:

If using fresh garlic, press one clove through a microplane or chop finely and scrape into the jar.

Add the remaining ingredients and shake well.