Liver and Onion Casserole

As previously indicated on Saturday I picked up two mystery items from ASDA for 53 pence and 63 pence accordingly.  I apologise unreservedly to my Vegetarian friends or those of a sensitive nature on what I am about to write about now, but getting a cheap nutritious meal is on my agenda these days as a priority and at these prices I could buy ten packs pop the in the freezer and only spend about £6 to £7 per month and I wouldn't get through all that liver in one month.  You can of course also fry it and serve in a Mixed grill or utilise the pigs liver in making faggots or in pate.  Or add bacon and make it a liver and onion casserole.  The choice of recipe is yours but this time round I am talking about hearty warming casseroles.

I am primarily  talking about pigs liver.  OH commented that it must cost about 20 pence a pack for the packaging at least which puts the liver at an even cheaper premium.  A cheap nutritious meal can be made from this and I will readily admit that I have to be in the mood to eat this so I do have some sympathies for those of you who are going Yuk.  What is Yuk is the way my OH eats it;  He eats a lot of fried liver but it is what is referred to as "blue" which means that it is literally showed the frying pan and then straight out.  I will not go into graphic detail here but needless to say I will not touch it this way at all.

I on the other hand prefere my liver properly cooked.  The recipe I use is simple but nutritious and makes a lovely warming meal for very little money.  One of these packs will make a large casserole for two.  However there are some things that I do before I start cooking with liver.  If your liver has been defrosted let it thaw. Once thawed dry it down and then pop it into a little milk as this will help draw any bitter juices from the liver and give it a nicer flavour. Leave it for about an hour to soak.  Discard the soaking milk.

take a couple of onions and slice them into rings. Dry off the liver as best you can and then  Coat the liver in a little seasoned flour and Gently fry the liver in until just browned.   Place the onion and the liver into a large casserole dish with about 1 pint of water or stock, a couple of stock cubes, some pepper (I use white pepper) and the liver and some mixed herbs.  Put on the casserole lid and leave to cook in a medium oven gas mark 4 to 5 for at least an hour.  I then add slaked thinned cornflour and any other usul flavourings that you would use to make your gravy and then leave to thicken up.  The gravy should thicken and be very tasty.  The pigs liver should be cooked through and tender when you test it with a knife.  Serve with mashed potato and a green veg such as cabbage or Kale or carrots. 

It is far tastier than it sounds; often people say Yuk without having really trying the ingredients.  Half the secret of enjoying food is finding a recipe that works for you and your family.  Go on give it a whirl at 53 pence or 63 pence for the meat you haven't really got a lot to lose but quite a bit to gain.

Go on have a go and try it

I love this especially on a cold winters evening.

Sorry to get you all excited and then disappointed in one fair swoop but I was in a "teasing mood".

Take care until tomorrow

Pattypan

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