Serves 6
45 minutes preparation time
1 hour chilling time
20 minutes cooking time
Ingredients
50 g (1¾ oz) stale bread, coarsely chopped
250 g (9 oz/1 cup) butter, softened
1 bunch of parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch of tarragon, leaves picked
1 French shallot, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
700 g (1 lb 9 oz) kipfler (fingerling)
potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves
6 bulb spring onions (scallions), trimmed and halved lengthways
100 g (3½ oz) smoked lardons,cut into 1 cm (½ inch) thickstrips (see note)
6 thick slices of calf’s liver (about 750 g/1 lb 10 oz)
Method
Herb crust
Finely chop the bread,150 g (5½ oz) of the butter and theparsley and tarragon leaves in a food processor to makea good thick paste. Stir in the shallot by hand andseason with salt and pepper. Roll out the herb pastebetween two sheets of baking paper to a thicknessof 5 mm (¼ inch). Transfer to a baking tray and chillfor 1 hour.
Potatoes
Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 8 minutes, or untilalmost tender. Rinse with cold water and pat dry withpaper towels. Cut in half.Put 50 g (1¾ oz) of the butter, the olive oil, bay leaves,garlic, spring onions, lardons and potato halves in a largefrying pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, over a low heat,for 3 minutes, or until the butter has melted. Cover withfoil to keep warm.
Liver
Preheat the oven grill (broiler) to medium–high. Put theremaining butter in a large clean frying pan and placeover a medium–high heat until melted. Add the slices ofliver and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned.Arrange the liver on a baking tray. Cover each slice withthe herb crust and place under the grill for 3 minutes, oruntil the herb crust has softened. Serve immediately,accompanied by the potatoes.
Note
If you can’t get smoked lardons, speck or pancetta workequally well.
Ripaillesby Stephane Reynaud (£26), published by Murdoch Books.
Photography: Marie Pierre Morel