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Pan Seared Beef Liver with Butternut Squash Polenta, Three Sisters Stew and Pickled Beet Spheres

This is a Canadian fall harvest dish, hearty and warm with an abundance of seasonal flavours. The beef liver is seared and coated in a stout based pan sauce that resonates with complex flavors of chocolate and bread. Three Sisters stew is a tribute to our indigenous heritage, paired with creamy squash polenta and beets.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Chill Time: 12 hours
Total Time 13 hours 45 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Angela Mueller & Ivan Milenovic

Ingredients

Three Sisters Stew

  • 3.5 oz (100g) presoaked, black eyed beans (Weber Farm St. Jacobs, ON)
  • 3.5 oz (100g) cubed butternut squash (Weber Farms St. Jacobs, ON)
  • 3.5 oz (100g) corn from the cob (Rolling Acres, Waterloo, ON)
  • 1 stalk celery (Community Garden, Kitchener, ON)
  • 1.8 oz (50g) diced shallots
  • 0.53 oz (15g) Canola oil (Can Farm Foods, MB)
  • 16.9 Fl oz (0.5L) reserved cooking liquid
  • 0.1 oz (3g) paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • TT salt (Tidal Salt, NS)

Pickled Beets

  • 8.8 oz (250g) beets
  • 33.8 Fl oz (1L) water
  • 16.9 Fl oz (0.5L) white vinegar
  • 0.7 oz (20g) salt (Tidal Salt, NS)
  • 0.7 oz (20g) sugar

Onion Filo Bridges

  • 3 sheets filo pastry
  • 2.5 Fl oz (70g) Canola oil (Can Farm Foods, MB)
  • 0.53 oz (15g) onion powder
  • 0.2 oz (5g) salt (Tidal Salt, NS)

Butternut Squash and Sage Polenta

  • 0.4 Fl oz (10g) thyme infused canola oil
  • 0.7 oz (20g) diced shallots
  • 5.3 Fl oz 150g milk (Mountain Oak, Baden, ON)
  • 1.8 Fl oz (50g) cream
  • 1 branch sage
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.8 oz (50g) butternut squash
  • 16.9 Fl oz (0.5L) water
  • 1.8 oz (50g) cornmeal (Speerville Flour Mill, NB)
  • TT salt (Tidal Salt, NS)

Pickled Beet Spheres

  • 0.2 oz (5g) sodium alginate
  • 0.3 oz (8g) calcium chloride
  • 8.8 oz (250g) beet puree
  • 33.8 Fl oz (1L oz) water

Beef Liver

  • 10.6 oz (300g) beef liver (Alberta Beef)
  • 16.9 Fl oz (0.5L) milk (Mountain Oak, Baden, ON)
  • 0.4 Fl oz (10g) Canola oil (Can Farm Foods, MB)
  • 5.3 Fl oz (150g) Stout (Powell Street Stout, Vancouver, BC)
  • 0.7 Fl oz (10g) maple syrup (Brien, Quebec)
  • 5.3 oz (50g) brunoised shallots
  • 0.1 oz (3g) caraway powder
  • TT salt Tidal Salt, NS
  • TT black peppercorn cracked
  • 0.7 oz (20g) all purpose flour

Butternut Squash Sides

  • 3.5 oz (100gr) butternut squash
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 1 bunch of dill

Thyme Infused Canola Oil

  • 8.8 oz (250g) thyme
  • 33.8 Fl oz (1L) Canola oil (Can Farm Foods, MB)

Instructions

For Pickled Beets:

  • Boil whole, unpeeled beets in pot of water for about 25 minutes or until tender (check by inserting a knife into the beet with little resistance).
  • Strain and allow the beets to cool slightly.
  • Using a clean kitchen towel, peel the beets with a scrubbing motion, cut them in slices ¼ inch.
  • Combine water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a pot. Bring them to a boil. Add the beets.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and let beets brine for 1 hour.

For Pickled Beet Spheres:

  • Transfer beets from the brine to a food processor and puree until smooth.
  • Use super bag or a cheese cloth to squeeze the juice out off the puree.
  • Add sodium alginate to the beet juice and use an immersion blender to emulsify ingredients.
  • Leave mixture in the fridge overnight for proper hydration to occur.
  • Mix water and calcium chloride to prepare a bath for the spheres. Leave in the fridge overnight.
  • Scoop 1tbsp beet puree at a time into the calcium chloride bath. Let sit for 2 minutes, remove from bath carefully and transfer to a clean bowl of water to rinse. Reserve for plating.

For Thyme Infused Canola Oil:

  • Heat Canola oil in the pot, add fresh thyme and cook at 185F (85C) for 1 hour.
  • Take pot off the heat and let infuse overnight. Filter through a cheesecloth, bottle for later use.

For Onion Filo Bridges:

  • Preheat oven to 340F (170C).
  • Lay out 3 sheets of filo, brush with Canola oil generously and dust with onion powder and salt.
  • Layer sheets on top of each other. Cut 1” W 5” L strips of layered filo then use desired piping tips to cut out holes. Place strips over the rolling pin and cover with tinfoil to a snug fit.
  • Bake for 6 minutes. Let baked Onion Filo Bridges cool, then place them in a sealed container.

For Pan Seared Liver:

  • Slice the liver to a ¼ inch thickness, place in a container, cover with milk, and refrigerate overnight.
  • Remove liver from milk and pat dry, coat in flour.
  • Preheat the pan with oil on medium high heat, add liver, cook for three minutes then add shallots.
  • Flip liver and cook for 3 more minutes, add caraway, stout, maple syrup, salt and pepper.
  • Remove liver and cut into triangles.
  • Reduce sauce left in the pan to a third.

For Three Sister Stew:

  • Soak the black-eyed beans in water overnight.
  • Place beans and water in the pot, boil for 30 minutes. Add squash and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add corn and whole stalk of celery, continue cooking all ingredients for another 10 minutes.
  • Strain, reserving the liquid, beans and vegetables. Discard the celery.
  • Heat pot with oil and sauté shallots on medium heat, add paprika, bay leaves and salt along with the cooked vegetables and the reserved liquid. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

For Butternut squash sides:

  • Peel and slice squash into strips ½” wide x 3” long.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place a colander with aromatics and squash on top, let steam for 3 min.
  • Line the inside of a metal 3” rectangular mold with steamed squash strips, one strip per side.

For Butternut Squash Polenta:

  • Heat up pot with Thyme Infused Canola oil on medium heat and sauté shallots until translucent.
  • Add milk, cream, sage and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
  • Strain out aromatics and reserve liquid for butternut squash polenta.
  • Boil a pot of water to which you will add peeled and cubed squash, cook 6-7 minutes or until tender.
  • Add strained squash to reserved liquid, bring to a boil and add cornmeal, cook for 20 minutes at low.
  • Pour polenta in the mold set slightly to the left on plate, and refrigerate until final plating.

Plating:

  • Retherm plate with polenta in the oven at 200F (93C), approximately 8 minutes, remove mold upwards unveiling polenta.
  • Top polenta with Three Sisters Stew, covering middle section of polenta.
  • Parallel to polenta place liver interlacing, with sauce spooned over every piece.
  • Place beet spheres to the top and bottom of the liver.
  • Garnish with Onion Filo Bridges overlapping liver, edible flowers and fresh parsley.

Notes

Chef’s notes: After the polenta is done you can use an immersion blender to make the product creamier.