Papardelle with chicken livers recipe

Chicken or duck livers make a great base for a pasta sauce, and they are affordable too. There is still a bit of a stigma around eating offal but it’s my favourite of all meats. The livers can be chopped as finely or as coarsely as you wish, and you can add ramsons, also known as wild garlic, to this when available, to give the pasta a seasonal touch.

Timings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 small shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
• 300-350g chicken livers, cleaned and chopped into rough 3cm pieces
• 100ml Marsala
• 100ml chicken stock
• 400g pappardelle
• 60g butter
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• Parmesan, freshly grated, to serve

Method

1. Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy frying pan and gently cook 4 finely chopped small shallots and 2 finely chopped or crushed garlic cloves without colouring them. Turn up the heat. 
2. Season 300-350g roughly chopped livers and add them to the pan, frying them over a high heat and stirring every so often until they begin to colour (a couple of minutes). 
3. Tip the livers onto a chopping board and chop them finely with a large knife then return them to the pan along with 100ml marsala and 100ml chicken stock.
4. Cook on a high heat until the liquid has reduced by about half and the sauce has thickened.
5. Meanwhile, cook 400g pappardelle in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions until al dente, then drain. 
6. Stir two-thirds of the sauce through the pasta, along with 60g butter and 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley. 
7. Transfer to warmed plates, then spoon over the rest of the sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan.