Peri-Peri Chicken Livers

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken livers
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 to 4 red bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp brandy
• 100 ml chicken stock
• 150 ml cream
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Before you cook

• Trim the sinew and any green-stained patches from the livers, rinse them and pat them very dry
• Finely chop the onion, crush the garlic and chop the chillies
• Chop the parsley and squeeze the lemon

Steps

1. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a heavy frying pan over high heat until it just begins to smoke.
2. Lay the livers in a single layer and fry them for two minutes without moving them.
3. Turn the livers and fry them for one minute more, then tip them onto a plate while they are still pink at the centre.
4. Lower the heat to medium, add the last tablespoon of oil, and cook the onion for four minutes until soft.
5. Stir in the garlic, chillies, smoked paprika and oregano and fry for one minute.
6. Add the tomato paste and cook it for one minute, stirring, until it darkens.
7. Pour in the brandy and let it bubble away for thirty seconds.
8. Add the stock and cream and simmer for three minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
9. Return the livers and their resting juices and warm them through for two minutes.
10. Finish with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley, and serve at once with crusty bread.