Duck livers and summer vegetables

Serves 4

(Jason Lowe)

Duck or chicken livers make good-value starters and main courses and they also contain a lot of protein. Avoid buying frozen livers as they can be mushy – which is fine for pâté but when you cook them on their own you need them to be firm. Make sure you remove any green sacs and sinew from the livers with a sharp knife.

250g duck livers, trimmed
50g butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
60g podded weight of peas, cooked
80-100g podded weight of broad beans, cooked with the large ones shelled
8 or so baby leeks, cooked
Some small salad leaves

For the dressing

1tbsp cider vinegar
1tsp Dijon or Tewksbury mustard
3-4tbsp olive or rapeseed oil

Season the livers, heat the butter in a heavy or non-stick frying pan until it begins to foam and cook the livers on a medium heat for a couple of minutes or so on each side, keeping them nice and pink; then transfer on to some kitchen paper.

Whisk the ingredients together for the dressing and toss with the vegetables and the salad leaves in a bowl, season and arrange on serving plates. You can keep the livers whole or slice them and arrange on the vegetables.