Nara's Chicken Liver and Onion Starter

Ingredients

• 1.1500 gram chicken livers, 6 x 250g punnets; trimmed
• 2.peanut oil, for frying
• 3.6 onions, large; chopped
• 4.180 millilitre sherry or tarragon vinegar, for deglazing
• 5.ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon
• 6.2.5 millilitre black pepper, ground
• 7.coarse salt, to sprinkle over livers
• 8.watercress, for platter base
• 9.tomatoes and cucumber, sliced; for garnish

Method

1. 1.Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan. Quickly sear the livers — about a minute a side. The livers must be pink inside. When adding or turning livers, remove pan from heat. The livers splatter and you may burn yourself. Remove livers and set aside to cool.
2. 2.Add the chopped onions to the oil in which you fried the livers. Scrape bits and pieces of what was left from frying livers through the frying onions. Fry onions until just translucent.
3. 3.Deglaze with the vinegar. Reduce rapidly until most of the vinegar has been absorbed. Sprinkle with the ground cloves, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
4. 4.To assemble: layer a platter with fresh watercress. Heap the fried onions in the centre. Sprinkle livers with coarse salt. Encircle the onions with the livers. Garnish with tomatoes and cucumber for colour.

Notes

• The livers must remain pink inside — do not overcook. The vinegar deglazing is the key flavour element.