Sweet Chili Chicken Livers

Okay. I know. Chicken livers are public enemy numero uno for most people. Sandwiched somewhere between Bush and Bin Laden. But way lower on the list than say, tripe. You know - stomachs, brains, eyeballs and other unmentionables. *Shudder*

Livers though? Definitely *not* the same as tripe. It won't hunt you down and give you nightmares. Nor will it remind you of monsters and other creatures of the undead. Promise.

Instead it will charm your tastebuds with its delectable richness. Make you squeal with delight at it's smooth creaminess. Full-fat cream has nothing on livers, I tell ya. Livers are the foodie world's Mr I'm-Too-Cool-To-Care when it comes to cholesterol. Because actually it is insanely good for you. Have you had a  look at those nutritional stats down below? Scroll down further. Riiiiiiight at the bottom. You see that? Nutritional rockstardom if ever there was such a thing. Cholesterol be damned.

Now that we've set the health nuts at ease, let me tell you about this little number here. It is so ridonkulously easy, cheap and quick to whip up that you will wonder if you've missed something. It'll make you doubt yourself and double check the recipe. Twice. But one bite of the end result and your doubts will fly right out of the window. Money-back guaranteed.

And dare I say: it makes livers seem... almost... sexy?

For these are chicken livers at their absolute mouthwatering best. Quickly seared, then cooked to perfection in a spicy-sweet tomato based sauce, quick 'n easy doesn't get much better than this. Making it the perfect go-to meal to whip up when you've got unexpected guests. And leaving you with enough time to regale them with crazy stories about your old enemy tripe. Or, if all else fails, impress them with your nutritional knowledge regarding livers. Knowledge is sexy you know.

Sweet Chili Chicken Livers
Serves 6 - 8 as starter or 4 as main

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced>
500g chicken livers
2 tins (410g each) peeled, chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
garlic chives, chopped (optional)

1. Heat half a tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sauteeing until glazed and see through. Remove and set aside.
2. Add another half a tablespoon of oil, increase heat to high and quickly sear half the chicken livers. Remove and set aside, then repeat with remaining oil and chicken livers.
3. Return onion to the saucepan, along with tomatoes, sweet chili sauce and chili flakes. Bring to a boil, cover and allow to cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until thickened.
4. Add livers to the sauce, turn heat down, and allow to simmer, partially covered for 5 - 10 minutes or until livers are cooked through to your liking. Garnish with chopped chives and serve with a rustic loaf of bread.  

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 340.3, Total fat 13.5 g, Saturated fat 3.2 g, Polyunsaturated fat 2.0 g, Monounsaturated fat 5.5 g, Cholesterol 705.0 mg, Sodium 295.8 mg, Potassium 426.8 mg, Total carbohydrate 17.7 g, Dietary fiber 0.3 g, Sugars 5.5 g, Protein 35.2 g

Good source of: Vitamin B12 440.2 %, Vitamin A 359.5 %, Folate 175.8 %, Riboflavin 170.4 %, Selenium 157.9 %, Pantothenic Acid 104.2 %, Iron 89.9 %, Niacin 87.2 %, Phosphorus 56.0 %, Vitamin B6 54.4 %

Citrus Burst Carrot & Butternut Soup

Wait a minute! Didn't I just post an Indian Carrot Soup recipe a few days ago? Yup, guilty as charged. You don't even need to bring the warrant of arrest, just show me the handcuffs and I'll step forward willingly to accept my fate.

But what's a poor blogger to do when she still has a load of carrots left in her freezer? And in the meantime our pantry of freebies has also grown to include butternut, potatoes and sweet potatoes. I swear we don't go begging, these things just find their way into our home. Perhaps because we are so likeable? Or more likely because our benefactors didn't have a clue what to do with the mounds of veggies in their cupboards... And so they passed the buck. (Yes I'm looking at you MIL)

But fear not! Because I bring you Carrot Soup: Round 2. Which also, conveniently, includes butternut. Will there be a round three? Dun-dun-dunnnnnnnnnnnn.

Okay all jokes aside though, this soup was truly phe-no-me-nal. Yes, I know I said that about the last one, but you want the truth? That previous carrot soup is no match for this one. There I said it. I'm sorry Indian Carrot Soup, but you just don't have that x-factor. Okay you might have the x-factor, but this one? It has the x, y and z factors. 

The citrus and especially the complex notes from the preserved lemon* gives a lovely twang to this otherwise rather ordinary rendition of carrot and butternut soup. And the toasted seeds on top? Heavenly bits of crunch. I think all soups should have toasted crunchy bits on top. Don't  you?

* Disclaimer: I might be slightly biased as I'm a recent preserved lemon convert & addict. I have to stop myself from eating it from the jar. True story.

Citrus Burst Carrot & Butternut Soup

Adapted from Running with Tweezers

Serves 6 - 8 as starter

(Serves 4 as main meal)

7 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 butternut, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves (whole)

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

1 tsp (5 ml) salt

3 cups water 

1 tbsp (15 ml) honey

6 tbsp (90 ml) orange juice

6 tbsp (90 ml) lemon juice from jar of preserved lemons*

1/4 preserved lemon, finely chopped*

3 tbsp (45 ml) sesame seeds

1 1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) cumin seeds

finely grated zest from one orange

yoghurt, to serve (optional)

1. Arrange carrots, butternut, onion and garlic cloves in an oven roasting tray. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil, then place in oven at 180C to roast for 30 minutes. Vegetables should be soft at this stage.

2. Add all the veggies to a blender, including the garlic which you've squeezed out of it's skins, add a little bit of the water and puree.

3. Spoon the puree into a large enough pot, then add water, honey, orange juice, lemon juice and preserved lemons. Stir, cover and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes over medium heat.

4. Meanwhile, toast the sesame and cumin seeds in a small frying pan over medium-high heat for a few seconds (be careful as they burn easily).

5. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzling with yoghurt (if using) and sprinkling with the toasted seeds and orange zest. Serve immediately.

* If you don't have a jar of preserved lemons handy, you can replace the juice with an equal quantity of lemon juice, and adjust the salt to taste. The taste, however, won't be quite the same.

Nutritional info (per starter serving): Calories 158.9 , Total fat 6.3 g, Saturated fat g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.9 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.3 g, Cholesterol 6.7 mg, Sodium 880.4 mg, Potassium 652.2 mg, Total carbohydrate 26.8 g, Dietary fiber 6.3 g, Sugars 6.8 g, Protein 2.8 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 327.2 %, Vitamin C 57.8 %, Manganese 23.2 %, Vitamin B-6 16.0 %

Portabellini and Sweet Potato Stuffed Tortillas

Don't you just want to take a bite? When I saw the original recipe over at The Wind Attack (great blog by the way) I felt like taking a big bite through the screen, so inviting did these tortillas look. Luckily for my teeth (and my medical bills) I refrained from taking a bite, instead opting to make these babies at home.

I've had an encounter with a sweet potato tortilla filling before and it was a revelation. Of course it also had a fair amount of gooey melted cheese to sweeten the deal so I might've been was probably biased. I'll admit the cheese-less nature of this tortilla had me doubtful and I was considering adding a handful of grated cheddar (or perhaps even Brie... mmmm) but in the end decided against it. All in the name of science of course.

And you know what? I didn't miss the cheese at all. Okay maybe a little bit. I'm a cheese addict okay? But the meaty spicy mushrooms and the bright specks of sweetcorn more than made up for the lack of dairy. And you can't go wrong with mashed sweet potatoes. Although I will concede that roasting the potatoes instead of just plain boiling them would've concentrated their flavour nicely.

All things considered though, these were a hands-down success. Hell I might even consider trying another cheese-free concoction!

Portabellini and Sweet Potato Stuffed Tortillas

Adapted from The Wind Attack

Makes 6 tortillas 

3 dried shitake mushrooms*

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

200g portabellini mushrooms, sliced

1 cup cook sweetcorn (you can use fresh, frozen or canned)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed with a little bit of milk

6 smallish flour tortillas (approx 16cm or 6.5 inch diameter)

sweet chilli sauce or tomato salsa to serve (optional)

1. Cover the dried mushrooms with boiling water and leave to re-hydrate and soften for approximately 10 minutes. Slice and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium frying pan, add garlic and portabellini mushrooms and fry for 4 - 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to release their juices. 

3. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the cumin and coriander seeds. You want it to be broken up but not finely ground. Add this to the mushrooms in the pan.

4. To the mushrooms in the pan add the dried mushrooms, sweetcorn, paprika, salt and fresh coriander and cook for another minute or two to heat evenly. Set aside.

5. Heat the tortillas for a few minutes in a frying pan or a few seconds in the microwave until soft and pliable. 

6. To assemble: Spread 1/6th of the mashed sweet potatoes on a tortilla, concentrating on the front quarter (triangle-shaped). Top with the mushroom and sweetcorn mixture, then fold the tortilla in half over the filling and in half again so that you have a triangular shaped tortilla casing stuffed with the filling. Repeat with the remaining 5 tortillas.

Serve as is or drizzle with sweet chilli sauce or tomato salsa. As a variation you could add grated cheddar to the filling and place under a hot grill to melt before serving.

Nutritional info (per tortilla): Calories 215.4, Total fat 5.1 g, Saturated fat 0.2 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.2 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.2 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 436.1 mg, Potassium 197.1 mg, Total carbohydrate 36.1 g, Dietary fiber 2.5 g, Sugars 7.7 g, Protein 6.9 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 47.8 %

* You should be able to find these at your local Asian grocer. I happened to find mine at an Indian spice shop in Durban. They will last forever in your cupboard too.