Lamb Liver with Commandaria

Name: Lamb Liver with Commandaria
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: --- 1 lamb liver, about 1.5 kg; --- ⅔ cup (170ml) olive oil; --- 1 kg yellow onions; --- 1 cup (250ml) Commandaria; --- 1 tablespoon (20g) tomato paste; --- 2 cups (500g) fresh ripe tomatoes, grated; --- ½ teaspoon (3g) sugar; --- 2 teaspoons (16g) salt; --- ½ teaspoon (1g) freshly ground black pepper

1995, Phaneromeni, Larnaca. I'm setting the table for my birthday and arranging the places for my guests. My friend Katerina informs me that she'll be coming with her cousin Kypros, whom I don't know. They arrive, introductions are made, and Kypros and I exchange our first glances. In a moment of awkwardness, he comments admiringly on the liver with caramelized onions, my mother's recipe… I smile back with the same awkwardness, and deep down I feel that there's a special chemistry with this man. Since then, Kypros and I have been together. 26 years have passed, and we always make sure this recipe, which defined our first meeting, is on our festive tables. I even add Commandaria to the recipe, in honor of those first… intoxicating glances of ours.

INGREDIENTS

• --- 1 lamb liver, about 1.5 kg
• --- ⅔ cup (170ml) olive oil
• --- 1 kg yellow onions
• --- 1 cup (250ml) Commandaria
• --- 1 tablespoon (20g) tomato paste
• --- 2 cups (500g) fresh ripe tomatoes, grated
• --- ½ teaspoon (3g) sugar
• --- 2 teaspoons (16g) salt
• --- ½ teaspoon (1g) freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Ask your butcher to cut the liver for you, separating the “dark” from the “white” parts. Peel the onions, cut them in half, then slice them. Pour the olive oil into a pot, and once heated, add the onions and sauté for about 25-30 minutes until caramelized. Stir occasionally. Remove the onions from the pot and place them in a colander. Return any oil that drains from them back to the pot. Add the “white” liver to the pot, which you have rinsed well (do not drain it completely, and add a little more water; this will help it cook) and fry for 10 minutes.
2. Then add the “dark” liver, which you also rinse and drain slightly, and continue frying for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Pour in the Commandaria and simmer for 10 minutes to evaporate the alcohol and tenderize the liver. Add the onions and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rubbing it against the bottom of the pot to release its aromas. Add the grated tomatoes and sugar, and simmer the dish over low heat for another 15 minutes for the flavors to meld. Stir occasionally.
3. Before removing the dish from the heat, add the salt (at the end so the liver doesn't toughen), the pepper, and stir for 4-5 minutes. The liver is even better when reheated.