Rosemary and Garlic Beef Liver Bites on Apple Rounds, the AIP Way

Liver is the food most people meet last in this work, and that makes sense. This little bite is a gentle way in. Seared fast with rosemary and garlic, rested, then set on a crisp apple round with a few leaves of arugula, the first taste lands bright and savory rather than heavy.

There is a real reason to make room for liver. It is among the most nutrient-dense foods there is, a source of vitamin A, vitamin B12, iron, and copper, nutrients involved in supporting energy, healthy blood, and the tissue repair an Autoimmune body is doing. A gentle target is roughly 2 to 4 servings a week. A little, regularly, is the goal.

An animal gave its liver for this, the most concentrated part of itself. That is worth a pause. The apple and the herb dress it simply, and the small plate you set down is its own kind of respect, for the animal and for you.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces beef liver, cut into 8 pieces
• salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 2 apples
• 1.5 cups arugula

Swaps made: none beyond the source's own AIP adaptation. The source already swaps butter for olive oil to keep this elimination-compliant, which we keep as written.

Method

• Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the liver pieces, season with salt, and add the rosemary and crushed garlic. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, turning once, so both sides brown and the liver is just cooked through.
• Lift the liver out and let it rest about 5 minutes. Keep the herb-flecked pan oil.
• While it rests, slice the apples into 8 rounds, about a quarter inch thick.
• Build each bite: an apple round, a few leaves of arugula, then a piece of liver. Spoon a little of the warm pan oil and aromatics over each one and serve warm.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*