Taste Magazine
Login/Register
Menu
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Starters
    • Mains
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • View all
  • Ingredients
    • Apples
    • Beef
    • Butternut
    • Cheese
    • Carrots
    • ClemenGold
    • Potatoes
    • Maize
    • View all
  • Dishes
    • Italian
    • Asian
    • Soups
    • Curry
    • Stews
    • Potjies
    • Mushrooms
    • Slow roasts
    • View all
  • Occasions
    • Birthdays
    • Ramadan
    • Eid
    • Easter
    • Pesach
    • Diwali
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • New Year’s Eve
  • Popular
    • South African
    • Air fryer
    • Braai
    • Five-ingredients or less
    • 30 minutes or less
    • Great Value
  • Win
    • Competitions
    • Competition Winners
  • Culture
    • Articles
    • How To
    • Columns
    • Glossary
  • WList™ great value hub
  • WCellar
  • Login
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter sign up
Editor’s picks
Spinach lasagne
Italian recipes

Spinach lasagne

2 hours 30 minutes
Air-fryer nachos
Air-fryer recipes

Air-fryer nachos

30 minutes
Home-made chips
Beer Food

Home-made chips

10 minutes
  • Home
  • Recipes
Fragrant spice and verjuice poached pears with pistachio mascarpone

Fragrant spice and verjuice poached pears with pistachio mascarpone

20 minutes
Parmesan pear tarte tatin with walnut clusters

Parmesan pear tarte tatin with walnut clusters

20 minutes
Dark chocolate and coconut tart with pear shavings

Dark chocolate and coconut tart with pear shavings

20 minutes
Pappardelle pasta with panfried pears, chorizo and sage cream

Pappardelle pasta with panfried pears, chorizo and sage cream

20 minutes
Spiced puree apple tarts with oat crust topped with slow poached apples
Apple recipes

Spiced puree apple tarts with oat crust topped with slow poached apples

20 minutes
Frangipane apple tart with apricot glaze

Frangipane apple tart with apricot glaze

30 minutes
Old-fashioned apple crumble with custard
Apple recipes

Old-fashioned apple crumble with custard

35 minutes
Creamy pork sausage and rosemary napoletana

Creamy pork sausage and rosemary napoletana

20 minutes
Wholewheat spaghetti tossed with sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh basil and silky mozzarella

Wholewheat spaghetti tossed with sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh basil and silky mozzarella

5 minutes
Organic spaghetti enrobed in mascarpone and gorgonzola carbonara

Organic spaghetti enrobed in mascarpone and gorgonzola carbonara

20 minutes
Pot-roasted sticky oxtail with port and dried fruits
Beef recipes

Pot-roasted sticky oxtail with port and dried fruits

1½ hours
Seared calf’s liver with home-made gnocchi, burnt sage butter and braised red onion
Gnocchi recipes

Seared calf’s liver with home-made gnocchi, burnt sage butter and braised red onion

15 minutes
Load more
  • Taste Magazine
  • shop online at woolworths. Shop Now
© 2026 Woolworths holdings limited. All rights strictly reserved.
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Media24
Please login or register to favourite a recipe.
Login/Register

Seared calf’s liver with home-made gnocchi, burnt sage butter and braised red onion

By Abigail Donnelly
Full StarFull StarFull StarFull StarFull Star
4
Easy
20 minutes
15 minutes

Ingredients

    For the braised red onion

  • 4 large red onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • For the burnt sage butter

  • 80 g butter
  • 8 sage leaves
  • For the seared calf’s liver

  • 1 cup chopped bacon pieces
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 4 large calf’s livers
  • 50 g cake flour
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • For the gnocchi

  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and roasted
  • 2 free-range egg yolks, beaten
  • 210 g flour, plus extra to dust
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 T olive oil

Method

To caramelise the red onion: In a saucepan over a medium heat, gently sweat the onion in the olive oil until translucent and fragrant. Add the brown sugar and, stirring occasionally, sweat further until a dark caramel starts to form - take care not to burn the onion. Add the wine and gently braise for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture takes on a sticky, jam-like consistency

To make the burnt sage butter: In a saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter and allow it to cook until it turns golden in colour. Remove from the heat and add the sage leaves. Allow to settle, then spoon off the clear golden liquid and sage leaves and reserve.

To prepare the calf's liver: In a large frying pan over a medium heat, sautée; the bacon in the olive oil until golden. Dust the livers with the cake flour and pan-fry with the bacon for 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned and just cooked through. Season to taste.

To make the gnocchi: Mash the roast potatoes until mooth. Add the egg yolks, flour and salt and mix by hand until you have pliable dough. Dust a work surface with more fl our and, using your fingertips, gently roll the dough into long strips, 1 cm in width. Cut each strip into 1.5-cm blocks, slightly flattening them with the prongs of a fork.
Bring a large saucepan of water together with the olive oil to the boil and add the gnocchi. Cook until the dumplings float to the surface, then remove from the water using a slotted spoon.

To serve: Toss the gnocchi in the burnt butter, then divide between four plates and serve topped with pan-fried calf's liver and braised onions.