I was considering entering the Paleo Holiday Recipe Contest, but there are a few problems: first, I never decide what I am going to make until I am half-way through cooking a meal; second, my recipes change all the time; and third, I never pay attention to how much of each ingredient I use so it’s kind of hard to write it down for someone else to do. Feeling ambitious, I attempted to create something and document my process, so that I might be able to write out a recipe after the fact.
It worked out pretty well, but I’m not going to enter it into the contest because: first, it’s not really a potluck-style dish; and second, I don’t know whether I’d enter it into the “main dish” or “appetizer” category. I will, however, share it with all of you!
Let me intro the dish. Luke does not like liver. I’ve never minded it, but it can definitely get overwhelming really fast. A few weeks ago, I made straight-up liver sliders- they were pretty good, but definitely liver-y. I wanted to find a way to hide the liver flavor a bit (like some poor parents have to hide veggies) to make a fabulous, healthy dish with all the nutrients in the liver but still yummy for those who are anti-liver.
Enter: Ground grass-fed beef and liver sliders!
Note: All spice amounts can be altered to taste!
Ingredients
Patties:
- 1lb grass-fed (if possible!) ground beef
- 1/2lb beef liver, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tbsp dried basil
- 1/4 c coconut flour (more or less depending on moisture of liver)
- 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
“Bun”
- 1 or 2 eggplants
- 2 tbsp pastured butter or coconut oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Marinara
- 1 c tomato puree (I used Pomi strained tomatoes- they come in a carton so you don’t have to worry about BPA leaching into your food!)
- 1/4 tbsp dried basil
- 1/4 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tbsp black pepper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400˚
Wash and cut eggplant into thin slices:
Brush eggplant with melted butter or coconut oil on both sides, then place on baking sheet:
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and maybe some basil if you’re feeling crazy, then place in oven and bake for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together liver and ground beef.
Add onions and spices and mix thoroughly.
Add coconut flour slowly until mixture reaches a workable consistency, like regular hamburgers.
Heat skillet and add ghee or coconut oil.
Form mixture into patties, brown them in skillet.
Mix together ingredients for marinara and heat in saucepan or microwave.
Assemble slider, adding leafy greens if you wish! Pour marinara over patty or use for dipping.
Enjoy!
