Mark Hix recipe: Liver and onions with bacon

Serves 4

Liver doesn't need to be slow-cooked, quite the opposite (Jason Lowe)

This is the dish that put most people off liver for life. Remember how it used to sit in those aluminium serving – and probably – cooking dishes for hours on end, acquiring that hideous tinge of green?

Liver doesn't need to be slow-cooked, quite the opposite, in fact; it just needs a quick flash-fry or grill for less than a minute on each side.

You can ask your butcher to slice the liver for you, or do it yourself, but make sure you cut it on the angle, so you get fairly wide, thin slices. Also, remember to remove any visible sinew as you are cutting.

8 thin slices of lamb's liver, weighing about 50-60g each
Vegetable or corn oil for frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium-sized onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
100g butter
60-70g pancetta cubes or a piece of smoked streaky bacon cut into 1cm cubes
6-8 spring onions, cut into 2 or 3, depending on the length

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and gently cook the onions with the lid on for 8-10 minutes, stirring every so often, until soft but not coloured. Add a knob of butter, then remove the lid; now cook for a further 2-3 minutes on a medium heat until they start to colour a little. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm.

Heat a frying pan with a little oil and cook the bacon on a medium for 3-4 minutes, stirring as it cooks. Add the spring onions, turn the heat down and cook for a few minutes on a low heat until they wilt, then stir in the rest of the butter.

To serve, season the liver on both sides, lightly oil a ribbed griddle pan and cook the liver on a very high heat for 40-50 seconds on each side, keeping it pink.

To serve, spoon the hot onions on to warmed plates, place the liver on top and then scatter over the onions and bacon.