WIVES AND MOTHERS
Chopped liver, chopped liver and more chopped liver – that’s all my mother ever makes, complained my Jewish mate Max regularly, forgetting for a moment his mother’s chicken noodle soup, chicken noodle soup and chicken noodle soup.
Max’s mother was a lovely lady, ever proud of her highly successful lawyer son -- the fact that his client list was made up mainly of the upper crust of London’s East End villains doing nothing to lessen her pride. Along with her husband, Max’s mother was a pillar of the local Jewish community, and whenever there was a charity bazaar, she was there with her chopped liver.
It came as a great surprise (and that is putting it mildly) when out of the blue Max announced his engagement to an Italian girl – well, actually she was an Essex girl from Romford, but her parents were from the old country.
For the first few weeks after the wedding, Max looked a different man. He survived going ‘cold turkey’ on chopped liver and was showing no apparent withdrawal systems brought about by a lack of chicken noodle soup.
But then came married life’s first major problem. Shortly after the wedding, the true Italian woman came out in his wife Tina – she began to cook. Was she trying to impress her mother-in-law? Possibly, as the very first dinner she prepared for Max was none other than tagliatini with chicken liver.
I am glad to say that the marriage has survived, and these days even Tina’s mother-in-law raises the white flag and turns up for a family dinner on occasion – and there’s no prize for guessing what’s usually on the menu those nights.
TAGLIATINI WITH CHICKEN LIVERS
75 g chicken livers, trimmed, washed carefully and roughly chopped
½ small onion, chopped very finely
50 g butter
5 tablespoons dry white wine
250 ml of well-flavoured chicken stock
375 g fresh tagliatini, or any other flat ribbon-shaped pasta
75 g freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 25 g butter in a saucepan and fry the chopped chicken livers and onion for 5 minutes. Add the wine and raise the heat to burn off the alcohol. Lower the heat, slowly pour in the chicken stock while stirring, then let the livers simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and stir to separate the ribbons. Boil on high heat for 2-3 minutes, depending on fineness of pasta, then drain carefully.
Return the pasta to the saucepan and add the chicken livers. Add the meianing butter and toss well. Serve in a warmed serving dish or bowl. Sprinkle with parmesan.
Serves 4
Max’s mother was a lovely lady, ever proud of her highly successful lawyer son -- the fact that his client list was made up mainly of the upper crust of London’s East End villains doing nothing to lessen her pride. Along with her husband, Max’s mother was a pillar of the local Jewish community, and whenever there was a charity bazaar, she was there with her chopped liver.
It came as a great surprise (and that is putting it mildly) when out of the blue Max announced his engagement to an Italian girl – well, actually she was an Essex girl from Romford, but her parents were from the old country.
For the first few weeks after the wedding, Max looked a different man. He survived going ‘cold turkey’ on chopped liver and was showing no apparent withdrawal systems brought about by a lack of chicken noodle soup.
But then came married life’s first major problem. Shortly after the wedding, the true Italian woman came out in his wife Tina – she began to cook. Was she trying to impress her mother-in-law? Possibly, as the very first dinner she prepared for Max was none other than tagliatini with chicken liver.
I am glad to say that the marriage has survived, and these days even Tina’s mother-in-law raises the white flag and turns up for a family dinner on occasion – and there’s no prize for guessing what’s usually on the menu those nights.
TAGLIATINI WITH CHICKEN LIVERS
75 g chicken livers, trimmed, washed carefully and roughly chopped
½ small onion, chopped very finely
50 g butter
5 tablespoons dry white wine
250 ml of well-flavoured chicken stock
375 g fresh tagliatini, or any other flat ribbon-shaped pasta
75 g freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 25 g butter in a saucepan and fry the chopped chicken livers and onion for 5 minutes. Add the wine and raise the heat to burn off the alcohol. Lower the heat, slowly pour in the chicken stock while stirring, then let the livers simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and stir to separate the ribbons. Boil on high heat for 2-3 minutes, depending on fineness of pasta, then drain carefully.
Return the pasta to the saucepan and add the chicken livers. Add the meianing butter and toss well. Serve in a warmed serving dish or bowl. Sprinkle with parmesan.
Serves 4
posted by antwerpalan | 18:25
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