I am almost positive you don’t start salivating at the mentioning of the word “liver”. But wait, maybe you haven’t really had a good liver dish, or perhaps you haven’t heard of the amazing health benefits of it. I happen to love liver. I understand it really has to do with my Eastern European upbringing, where liver is a big part of Slavic cuisine. I liked it, I ate it, but never really knew of its properties. Since starting my new paleo way of life, I’ve learned of all the great health benefits liver provides. Yes, it might look weird, and smell funny, but don’t discard it just because of that. In fact, did you know that in some cultures, the organ meats were uniquely preferred over the lean muscle meats, which perhaps were given to the dogs.
Health Benefits of Liver
Liver is an excellent source of high quality protein, folic acid and iron; contains an abundance of vitamin A and several B vitamins. Liver is the number one food source of copper; and contains CoQ10, which is important for cardiovascular function. A slice of beef liver contains about 338 mg of phosphorus which your body needs for functions such as the building of bones and teeth and proper waste processing by the kidneys. These nutrients provide the body with certain abilities to get rid of toxins.
Make sure you consume meat and organ meats from animals that have been raised in fresh pastures without hormones or antibiotics. I’ve been buying my liver at Whole Foods. It’s already all prepped and ready to go. The best part about it – IT IS CHEAP. Less than $3 a pound. Not bad! So if you’ve never really tried liver before, don’t be afraid to give it a try. Just remember how good it is for you!
My favorite liver recipe is a Layered Liver Cake. It’s a traditional Russian/Ukrainian dish. It is often served as an appetizer on various celebrations.
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb beef liver
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 milk
- 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
- 2-3 onions
- 2-3 carrots
- 3 garlic cloves
- home made mayonnaise
- olive oil
- salt
- Fresh dill to taste
Instructions
- Wash your liver and put it into a food processor
- Add 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of buckwheat flour, 1/2 cup milk, salt to the liver and turn the processor on, leave it until the mixture forms into a smooth paste.
- Heat your non stick pan. Add a little bit of oil and pour some of the liver mixture onto the pan so it forms a pancake. When the pancake starts changing color, flip it. I use a frying pan about 10-11 inches in diameter.
- Grate carrots on a medium grater. Mince onions.
- Saute onions and carrots in olive oil.
- Add squeezed garlic to the mayonnaise.
- Spread the mayo mixture onto each liver pancake. Spread carrot and onion mix over. Cover with next pancake and repeat with mayo-garlic and onion-carrots, until last pancake is on, then just finish it up with remaining of the mayo mix.
- Let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Serve cold.
- Enjoy!
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