Chicken Livers with Tomato and Rice

 Serves 4

Chicken Livers with Tomato and Rice is a rustic dish, and makes a nice small meal for when you want just a little something.   Ever wonder what to do with chicken livers besides adding them to a stuffing or making a giblet gravy?  Sometimes, I just serve it as a starter without the rice.  The sauce is wonderful to dip artisan or Portuguese bread into. If I have any leftovers I will purée into a flavorful spread for crackers or toasted bread rounds or mix in with scrambled eggs.

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste (optional)
• ½ cup fresh chopped tomato, with some of the juices and seeded
• 1 pound coarsely chopped chicken livers, trimmed of any gristle or fat
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup long grain rice
• ½ cup finely chopped parsley

Chicken Livers

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium- high heat and sauté onions until translucent.
2. Toss in the garlic and bay leaf.  Give it a stir and cook until the garlic becomes aromatic, about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the tomato, then reduce the heat to medium and cover. Continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and married into the onions. Add the tomato paste, if using.  If you are using tomato paste, make sure it is dissolved well into the sauce.

Rice

1. Now pour in the water and bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and the rice. When the rice is almost done, add the chicken livers with the parsley and continue cooking until the rice is completely done,  about 15 minutes.
2.  Transfer the Chicken livers with tomato and rice to a serving dish and serve with olives, your favorite white wine and bread.