Crostini Toscani: Chicken Liver w/ Balsamic Onions

There is no middle ground when it comes to liver.
You either love it, or hate it.

I love it.

My grandmother's recipe is still my favorite, with the fried onions and chopped hard boiled egg. It's reserved for Jewish holidays only (or if our friend Scott comes for dinner).

I always order crostini Toscani when in an Italian enoteca as an appetizer, and always wonder why I never make it at home, so I searched for a good sounding recipe online and chose Anne Burrell's. This is the first recipe I have made from Anne, but not the last.

What makes this crostini THE BOMB is the balsamic onion topping.
I loved these onions and will be using them for other appetizers in the future.

As my grandmother used to say "try it, you'll like it".



Chicken Liver Crostini w/ Balsamico Onions: (adapted from Anne Burrell)

For the Balsamic onions:

Olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
Salt
1 cup balsamic vinegar

For the Chicken Liver Pate:

Olive oil
3 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons capers
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 pound chicken livers, cleaned and rinsed
1 cup white wine
1 baguette, cut in to 1/2-inch slices, toasted or grilled



To make the onions: Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the onions. Season the onions with salt and bring the pan to a medium-low heat. Cover and sweat the onions for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the balsamic and cook for another 20 minutes or until the balsamic is syrupy. Use right away, or place in airtight jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the chicken liver pate: Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the anchovies, capers and garlic. Bring to medium heat and saute until the anchovies have dissolved.

Add the chicken livers, turn up the heat and saute for 5 minutes and cook until the livers are about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way done. Add the wine and cook for 5-10 more minutes or until the wine has reduced by half, the mix should still be pretty soupy.

Transfer everything to a food processor and puree until smooth. One or two pulses, I like mine chunky. Season with a little salt, if needed, and loosen with a little olive oil if needed.

Schmear each toast with the liver and top with balsamic onions.



I prepared this in the a.m. and refrigerated the onions and liver separately, and assembled the toasts an hour before serving.

Enjoy!