The Mediterranean culture doesn't waste food. I grew up in this culture, where literally nothing goes to waste. As a tradition, at least once a year, every family gathers around a big feast of a whole lamb. This concept may be strange for those of us who were brought up in the city, but in the countryside even today, this is a normal practice. In areas and farms where animal are raised, when one of the animals is slaughtered the event becomes a family affair and everybody joins in. On these occasions the whole animal is cooked, from head to tail. Growing up, our family tradition was to donate most of the animal to the poor, we would only keep a roast and the parts that were considered of "second grade", mainly the organs, the feet and the head. Today these parts are considered delicacies, and whenever they are served people welcome them with oohs and aahs.
I still remember the days when the whole family would gather at our home for the feast: my aunts would first prepare the meat to be donated, then start cooking our share. Brunch would be mainly a stew of different organs: liver, heart and kidneys. The menu for the other big meal of the day would consist mainly of whatever cut of meat we kept: grilled chops, boiled neck and a roast. These are relatively easy to prepare, so the main effort would be spent preparing all the other pieces: tripe, brains, testicles, tongue, lungs, all the organs, even the intestines and the feet. Nothing is discarded.
I don't remember that there even was a question of saying "I like this, or I don't like that". You had to eat everything.. or try everything at least twice to form an informed opinion and make up your mind. So I've tried them all. I can proudly say from experience that I've tasted all kinds of organs and have determined my preferences. Today I'm sharing them with you.
GRILLED LIVER
This is a very easy way to cook liver. You surely know that liver is very good for you. It's full of vitamins and minerals and is highly recommended for those who suffer from anemia. But, not everyone can eat liver. I noticed that many around me think that it is one of those things you cannot even come close to. That's not true. My recipe will prove it. In fact, the day I took this picture, I had some young family members who had this opinion. Once one of them took a bite of liver, everyone was so excited that they didn't even give me time to do anything with the boiled potatoes I had on the side. Everything disappeared in a second. So, have a little faith, be courageous and try a piece of grilled liver. You'll need:
2 lb calf liver
1 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Ask your butcher to cut the liver for you in slices a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Please try to get your liver from a butcher, not those slices you find in supermarkets that God only knows how long they've been sitting in the display case, they will never give you the same taste. Rinse the liver slices thoroughly and make sure that you remove any clots of blood they may contain. Put the slices in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and let the slices marinate for at least one hour. Heat the grill and grill the liver slices 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Make sure that you do not disturb them too much on the grill. To check for donness, remove a slice and put it in a plate: if the juices run clear, the liver is well done, if it is a bit red, it's medium rare. So cook them to suit your taste.
MIXED ORGANS STEW
Now that you've tried liver, let's take it up a notch: let's try some more organs. This is a simple way to cook three organs together (liver, heart and kidneys) in a delicious stew. As usual, my way is a tweaked traditional recipe, where I reduce the amount of fat used. As we did for the liver recipe, try to get your organs fresh from a butcher. You can ask him to slice the heart, liver and kidneys for you. My butcher always resists when I ask him to remove all the fat from the meat I buy from him and tells me that fat makes the meat delicious, so I don't discuss it anymore: I ask him to remove the fat, he resists and removes part of it and I complete the job on my own at home. I always remove all the white I can see in the meat, and in this case in the organs. The liver has no fat, so I cut the slices in 1 inch strips. The heart has only a fatty part on top and it's very easy to remove. Make sure also that it doesn't have any pieces of big blood vessels, they are also easy to recognize and remove. The kidneys are a bit tricky: sometimes they come with a clear membrane on the outside, just peel it off. It will come off easy. The tricky part is in the middle: there is a chunk of fat in the center of the kidney, but it is very visible and easy to remove. You can even cut around it and get pieces of red meat. You'll need:
1 veal heart
2 veal kidneys
1 to 1 1/2 lb calf liver
2 to 3 tbsp onion/garlic mixture
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp butter
Once you've prepared the organs and removed all the fat, put each kind in a bowl, and add to each 1 tbsp onion/garlic mixture and salt and pepper. Add the lime juice only to the liver. Let marinate for at least 1 hour. In a nonstick skillet large enough to hold all the organs you have, start cooking the heart slices. Let them first brown stirring frequently on medium high heat. When all the liquid is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of water and stir to loosen the browned bits from around the skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and keep cooking with the skillet covered. Remember that the heart is a very strong muscle, so it may need more time to cook and become tender. You may add some more water until you are sure that the heart slices are almost fork tender. You can now add the kidney slices, stir. Then add the liver strips. Stir. They will render their liquids. Wait until all the liquid is absorbed and the slices are browned. Add the tbsp of butter, stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup water or so to loosen all the browned bits in the skillet and constitute a brown sauce. When this sauce is formed and the organ slices are fork tender, remove from the heat and serve.
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