Today, a recipe for an appetizer: rabbit livers on polenta crostini.
A very simple rabbit liver pâté to prepare and great to serve on bread crostini or grilled polenta. It can be enjoyed as an appetizer during the holidays, perhaps before oven-baked rabbit with potatoes.
Rabbit livers have a strong and particular flavor, and when cooked carefully with a bit of shallot, they give the dish an enveloping aroma enhanced by red wine (I use Montepulciano d’Abruzzo being from Abruzzo) and some sage leaves. Additionally, the mix of butter and oil used makes this dish even more indulgent. The creamy texture is obtained by blending the livers after cooking.
Let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Easter
- Energy 270.81 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.74 (g) of which sugars 1.46 (g)
- Proteins 13.76 (g)
- Fat 11.22 (g) of which saturated 2.62 (g)of which unsaturated 5.94 (g)
- Fibers 1.50 (g)
- Sodium 421.58 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Rabbit Livers
- 1/2 cup shallot
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 10.5 oz rabbit liver
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 2 leaves sage
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- 3 1/3 cups water
- 1 cup cornmeal (for instant polenta)
- 1 tsp salt
Tools
- 1 Scale
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Pan
- 1 Immersion Blender
- 2 Casseroles
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
Let’s Prepare Rabbit Livers on Polenta Crostini Together
In a saucepan or a small pot, put the water and salt. When the water boils, add the cornmeal and mix with a whisk to avoid lumps. Cook for the time indicated on the package. After cooking, add a drizzle of oil, mix, and turn off the heat. Take a plastic container and pour the polenta in to form a loaf once it cools.
Clean the shallots and chop them coarsely. In a non-stick saucepan, pour the olive oil, add the shallots, and let them slightly fry. Meanwhile, cut the rabbit livers and add them to the sauté with the herbs, namely sage and bay leaf. Salt, pepper, and let it cook on medium-low heat for about ten minutes.
After the cooking time, deglaze with the red wine and cook for another five minutes (the livers should break easily when touched with a spoon). Remove sage and bay leaf, then transfer the livers to a container suitable for an immersion blender or a mixer and blend everything together with the butter until creamy. Blend for the time needed to achieve your preferred texture; I made it creamy.
Take the cooled and solidified polenta, remove it from the container and slice it into 1/2-inch slices. At this point, you can grill it in a hot non-stick pan, or bake it in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes or in an air fryer at 355°F for 7-8 minutes or until a crust forms.
Once the polenta crostini are ready, but you can also make them with homemade bread, spread a little rabbit liver pâté on top and serve with a nice glass of red wine. But first, snap a photo of your livers and post it on social media tagging me (una riccia che pasticcia on Instagram and Facebook) and let me know if you used polenta or bread.
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If you don’t want to go through the hassle of making polenta, you can use the already ready to slice or make crostini with some bread you have at home. But if you decide to make the polenta yourself, I recommend preparing it in advance so it has time to solidify in the fridge.
