Today we prepare a tasty dish for a nutritious dinner suitable also as a single meal for a Keto diet. This is an ancient dish, much loved even by the ancient Romans, based on meat—specifically, pan-fried veal liver. I know not everyone likes this type of meat, but I assure you it is really good: just cook it with the proper care to keep it tender and season it with the right aromatics like sage, rosemary, lemon and pitted olives or tapenade. A low-carbohydrate, very tasty and filling single dish that provides many nutrients such as protein, iron and phosphorus.
Liver to counteract anemia and support bone and muscle health
100 g (about 3.5 oz) of liver contains a very high amount of iron (useful against anemia). Considering that the daily recommended amount is 14 mg, veal liver has 8.8 mg (pork liver even 18 mg); it also contains 350 mg of phosphorus (for bone health) — the daily requirement of this mineral is 800–1000 mg. Regarding protein, 100 g contains as much as 20 g (important for collagen formation and muscles); the recommended daily protein intake is about 1 g per kg of body weight.
Macronutrient values for the complete recipe: pan-fried veal liver
The complete recipe provides 387 calories – 7.6 g carbohydrates – 20.3 g protein – 29.7 g fat (most of the latter, 23.2 g, comes from oil and olives; for this reason the recipe as written is suitable for the keto diet. Those following a balanced or hypercaloric diet can omit oil and olives).
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 1
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 oz veal liver
- 1.5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 leaves sage
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1.5 tbsp hulled pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 1 wedge lemon
- 1.33 tbsp olive tapenade (or pitted green olives)
Tools
Preparation
Put a drizzle of oil in a pan, add a small piece of onion and let it turn golden. Add about 20 g (about 3/4 oz) of cherry tomatoes halved. Cook 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
Then add the meat, lower the heat to the minimum (it must cook very slowly for 15 minutes with the lid on). Turn the meat halfway through cooking.
At the end of cooking the meat should have absorbed all the pan sauce; if not, raise the heat for a few moments.
When the meat is well cooked (but still tender), add 2 tablespoons of white wine, let it evaporate, then add a chopped mix of sage + rosemary + pumpkin seeds + pitted olives or tapenade.
Plate, dress with the remaining olive oil raw + about 20 g (about 3/4 oz) of cherry tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon.
The ketogenic dinner is ready
