A Home Companion- My year of living like my grandmother

Posted: 6/10/2010 11:45:01 a.m.

In my opinion liver is a highly under-rated health food, low in saturated fats and cholesterol and high in vitamins A, B6, B12 and D, as well as being a great source of protein. There’s also iron, zinc, copper, manganese, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, phosphorus and selenium.
Research shows that – possibly as a result of our determination to beat skin cancer by keeping out of the sun – around half of New Zealand adults don’t get enough vitamin D and 4 per cent of women and 2 per cent of men are vitamin D-deficient. Our main source of vitamin D is sunlight but you can also get it from foods like liver. There is growing evidence that having an adequate level of vitamin D can prevent or improve the outcome of many diseases including breast, prostate and bowel cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. There is even a possible association between low levels and obesity. So liver is more than a health food, it’s a bloody tonic!

Gorgeous Liver
Take 200 grams of liver and slice it to create slivers of meat about 10mm thick, removing any sinew or tissue. Roughly chop the flesh of two tamarillos and mix with the liver in a bowl. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Finely slice an onion and fry it gently in a little olive oil over a medium heat. When the onion is just starting to brown, turn up the heat a little and add the liver and tamarillos. Fry the liver quickly on one side for a minute and then flip it over to brown the other side. Just as it has finished cooking swish in about a tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce and let it bubble and caramelise down into the pan which should only take a second. Swish it all around so that the meat is coated with the tamarillo and the sauce and serve.

From: A Home Companion, My year of living like my grandmother, by Wendyl Nissen. (Allen and Unwin, RRP $29.99)