Veal Liver with Dandelion Green Potatoes

Phil was intrigued by the New York Times' Mark Bittman's Green Mashed Potatoes recipe and passed it over. We come at it from differengt perspectives - Bittman is a vegan; I'm an unabashed animal-fat-and-meat-loving omnivore, but our goal is essentially the same. We both want to take simple, real, food and cook it simply.

So, needing comfort on this chilly March evening, we had veal liver with Dandelion Green Potatoes. His calls for boatloads of olive oil and a thick breadcrumb crust; I prefer butter and just a dusting of panko.

Recipe:
(serves 2)

For the Veal:
1 slice veal liver
2 sliced mushrooms
1 large shallot, sliced thin.

For the potatoes:
2 large (approx. 1 lb) russet or other starchy potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 lb dandelion or other similar greens, bottoms of stems cut off (save for scrap salad).
1/2 c butter
generous pinch of salt
lots of pepper
dusting of panko (Japanese bread crumbs; omit if you want it gluten-free)

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the potatoes and salt and boil until nicely cooked, 20-30 min. Remove with slotted spoon and mash, rice, or put through a food mill (I mashed). Bring the pot water back to a boil, add the greens and cook 1 min. Remove, rinse in cold water, squeeze out excess water, and chop. Mash the greens and butter into the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Put the mixed greens and potatoes into an ovenproof dish. Generously grind pepper over. Dust with panko. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until panko starts to brown.

While potatoes are in the oven, heat a griddle generously coated with bacon drippings or lard. When the griddle is hot, add the mushrooms and shallots and saute until the shallots are crispy-brown. Push the shallot-mushroom mixture to the unheated part of the griddle, or remove and keep warm. Turn the griddle to medium-low until you are ready to cook the liver.

Once the greens and potatoes are done, remove from the oven. Put the liver on the griddle and cook 1 min on each side. Plate immediately and cover with the mushroom and shallot mixture. Serve 1/4 of the potatoes to each. Save the rest for tomorrow.

Eating notes: Honestly, while this was easy comfort food I would have preferred the dandelion greens cooked separately from the potatoes. There was not enough "bite" to the dinner as a whole for my taste. That said, it was a really good dish and I will make it again, although probably paired with something that has a sharpness of its own so that the meal as a whole has a better balance.