Either you love it or hate it. But decades ago, pan-fried liver in a sour sauce was an occasion bar none for West Coasters. Nutritious, quick and easy. Today, it’s the star on pub menus.
Ingredients for liver: 1 kg sheep or beef liver cut into slices; 60 ml white wine vinegar; 125 ml cold water; 1 sliced onion; cake flour; salt & pepper to taste; olive oil; chopped parsley. Ingredients for sauce: 4 ripe tomatoes cut into cubes; 125 ml water; 30 ml white vinegar; 30 ml white wine; 5 ml sugar; salt; pepper.
Marinate the liver for an hour in the vinegar and water mixture. Drain, season and roll in flour. Pan-fry onions until translucent. Add liver and simmer for 10 minutes in shallow, medium-hot oil. Spoon into an ovenproof dish and keep warm.
Prepare sauce in the same pan, but pour off the oil. Loosen the pan scrapings by cooking the water, vinegar and wine in the pan until the mixture thickens. Add tomatoes and sugar (and flour if necessary). Simmer for 10 minutes. When the sauce is sufficiently thick, pour over the liver. Serve straight-away atop a creamy mound of mash and a flourish of parsley.