Grilled pig’s liver with mustard and crab apple sauce

Serves 4

Grilled pig's liver with crab apple sauce (Jason Lowe)

Pig’s liver is a really under-used offal – treat it just like calf’s liver; it’s a fraction of the price and most butchers will be glad to get shot of it. Buy a whole one and use the rest in a salad or mince it up and make good old-fashioned faggots which are cheap and delicious.

There are various varieties of crab apples and many of the streets in London were planted with crab apple trees which rarely get harvested; have a look – there might well be a tree near you.

4 slices of pig’s liver cut to about 1cm thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little vegetable or corn oil for frying
60g butter
250-300g crab apples, washed and stems removed
1-2tbsp caster sugar
2tbsp grain mustard
30-40g fresh white breadcrumbs, lightly toasted
2tbsp chopped parsley

First, make the crab apple purée: put the crab apples in a saucepan with half of the sugar and a tablespoon of water, cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 8-10 minutes or until they are soft. A mouli legume is the best way to purée these as it catches the tiny pips in the mesh, or you can just blend the fruit in a liquidiser until smooth. Taste the purée and add more sugar if necessary.

Melt half of the butter in a pan then mix with the breadcrumbs and parsley, and season.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy or non-stick frying pan, season the liver on both sides and cook for about a minute and a half on each side on a high heat – adding a knob of butter while it’s cooking. Keep warm.

To serve, spread each slice of liver with mustard and spoon on the breadcrumb mixture. Spoon the crab apple purée on to warmed serving plates and spread it with the back of a spoon and place the liver on top.