Weeknight Dinner: Sauted Liver and Broccoli Pesto Pasta

Sauteed Liver and Broccoli Pesto Pasta

 This is a dinner of loves and hates.  I love liver.  I hate broccoli.  I love cooking, but I hate cleaning up.  I love blogging, but I hate taking, uploading, and editing pictures.  So you get a little of both worlds a little liver, a lot of broccoli, an easy meal with not too much clean up, and a blog post with only one picture.  :D

Maybe you're the opposite of me you love broccoli but you hate liver.Liver has a bad rap.  Maybe you tried it once as a kid and it was gross dry and weirdly pasty with a texture like eating glue.  Here's the thing liver is delicious--if you follow two simple rules: one, marinate; and two don't over cook it.  Liver should still be slightly pink inside when you serve it.  The liver here is prepared in simple marinade of store bought dressing.  

As for the broccoli, I followed a recipe I found over at the Smitten Kitchen,  with only a few minor tweaks.   I used mozzarella cheese instead of parmesan because that's what I had on hand, milk instead of cream for the same reason, and I added more garlic and a pinch of red pepper for flavoring.

So give liver a shot and enjoy a simple meal.

Pork Liver marinated in Italian dressing

1/4 cup Italian dressing  ( I used two different kinds to use up the last of both bottles)

1/2 lb Fresh Pork liver

1 tsp olive oil

Rinse the liver and pat it dry place it in a shallow bowl or dish.  Pour the dressing over the liver and use a spoon to make sure each piece is coated.  Set aside for 20 mins.  Use this time to prepare your broccoli pasta.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add oil and coat pan.  Add the liver and cook for 2-3 mins on each side or until the center is slightly pink.