Chicken Liver and Rice

Romanian Chicken Liver and Rice or pilaf, a hearty meal that has it all: carbs, vegetables and protein. It's quick and easy to make, and it goes down well with the whole family.

If you ever visit Romania, you will definitely fall in love with our food. Do expect to leave the country with a few extra kilos though, as we love eating good food, especially meat, most of our sample dishes are meat based.

In the countryside, at least, it is quite common to eat meat with pretty much every meal, but then it makes perfect sense, you can't really work hard on your farm and field and be expected to survive on salads.

So, this dish is perfect for those of you who appreciate good food and need some extra energy for those demanding days. The chicken liver gives a meaty touch to the already flavourful rice.

The way we cook pilaf is quite similar to the Italian risotto, rather than the Middle Eastern Pilau/Pilaf. We use short grain rice instead of the risotto one and the dish has a creamy consistency. The chicken liver can be replaced with chicken breast, if you wish.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step photos and instructions
• Expert tips
• Chicken Liver and Rice

Ingredients needed

• long grain rice -I used long grain & wild rice
• vegetable oil
• carrots
• red pepper
• onion
• chicken stock/broth
• chicken livers
• salt & ground black pepper
• fresh parsley

Step-by-step photos and instructions

As promised, this recipe is super easy. The chicken liver can be either grilled, which is my preferred way of cooking them, or boiled.

• Chop the spring onions, carrots and peppers
• In a large pan, heat up one tablespoon of oil and add the onions.
• Stir until the onions are soft, then add the chopped carrot and pepper.
• Wash the rice well under cold water until the water runs clear.
• Add the rice to the pan, stir well, then pour in the stock/broth and cover the pan with a lid.
• Allow the rice to cook on a low to medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed - Do make sure you keep an eye on it, as the rice can stick to the pan.
• Grill the chicken livers until cooked through
• Half of the chicken livers can be chopped into small pieces, while the rest can be added to the pan into big chunks.
• Season the rice with salt and pepper, depending on your own taste, you may want to add more of less salt.
• Add the freshly chopped parsley, remove the pan from the heat and leave it covered with a lid for at least 20 minutes.
• Serve hot!

Expert tips

Chicken livers might not be for everyone. It has a pretty strong taste that you have to grow up with in order to fully enjoy it. It was one of those foods that I would gladly eat up whenever mum used to cook it for me, especially grilled with polenta.

One of my favourite dishes still is Chicken Liver and Onions with Polenta, it's hearty, it's delicious, and absolutely amazing no matter the season.

As said before, grilled gives it a distinctive charred touch that makes it absolutely delicious, so I highly recommend grilled over any other cooking method.

You can add any other vegetables to the dish, either fresh or frozen, the more, the better and tastier. You can also add any leftover meat you have around, be it leftover roast chicken, leftover roast beef, or leftover roast pork. All it all, it's a delicious meal to have for your dinner, anytime of the week. Do give it a go!

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