R E C I P E S

Fegato alla Veneziana (Venetian-Style Calf ’s Liver)

By Edward Behr

Figà a la ​v​enexiana ​(to use the ​Venetian rather than the ​Italian ​name) — liver and onions sparked with lemon, wine, or vinegar — is a quickly made dish. The only danger is that the liver will be overcooked: dry and tough. To protect against that, the onions are cooked first and the liver goes on top. The onions also help to counteract any dryness as well as the mild bitterness of liver. If you add enough acidity, then the sweetness of the onions — often half the weight of the liver — makes the dish slightly sweet and sour. One Venetian I’ve met uses only grated lemon zest, nothing acidic at all. Giuseppe Maffioli, a deep student of the city’s cooking, in La Cucina Veneziana, published in 1982, gives the option of figà a la sbrodega, using fewer onions but adding garlic, rosemary, and fresh sage leaves; then he adds wine or vinegar or both, and seasons the dish at the end with a tiny pinch each of cinnamon and clove. Calf’s liver is best. (At times the stronger, cruder pork liver is used and, occasionally, beef liver, stronger still.) But in Venice, the mild livers of chicken or other fowl are sometimes chosen; kidneys can be treated the same way, but with them be sure to add vinegar to go with the stronger taste.

You eat fegato alla veneziana with polenta, usually soft and hot, though it can be cooled on a platter, cut into pieces, and fried or grilled slowly, so the surface firms and the pieces hold together. The Veneto traditionally eats a lot of corn; pasta and bread have become widespread everyday food only relatively recently. As throughout northern Italy, much of the bread in Venice has a washed-out-looking tan crust over an ultrawhite cottony interior, and very little taste. Polenta from freshly ground cornmeal is hugely superior.

½ pound (250 gr) sweet onions, thinly sliced

¼ cup (60 ml) excellent, fresh-tasting olive oil or 2 tablespoons each oil and unsalted butter

¼ cup (60 ml) white wine

1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar, optional

1 pound (500 gr) calf ’s liver, outside membrane removed, sliced no more than ¼-inch (6-mm) thick and cut again to make strips roughly 1-inch (2- to 3-cm) wide

a small handful of parsley, finely chopped just before cooking

salt and black pepper

Cook the onions slowly in the fat in a very large frying pan (enough space to later fit the liver in a single layer), stirring now and then, until they are soft but not at all fried or brown — 10 to 15 minutes. (If the onions seem dry, cover the pan or add a little water.) Raise the heat to high, stir in the wine, and taste; if you prefer a slightly sharper taste, add the vinegar. Put the liver in a layer on top of the onions. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, turn the liver, and, stirring several times, cook 2 more minutes, or until the liver just ceases to be bloody — do not overcook. Take the pan from the heat, and immediately stir in the parsley so it cooks in the residual heat. Season with salt and grind in pepper. Serves 4.