Rigatoni with Chicken Livers Recipe

A bowl of rigatoni in chicken liver sauce, crisped sage leaves scattered visibly on top

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5 from 2 votes

How to prepare Vetri's rigatoni with chicken livers. Ymmm

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 512kcal

Ingredients

14 ounces rigatoni dry pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter plus some extra for the sauce
8 small cipollini onions peeled and thinly sliced into rings
12 leaves sage
salt and freshly ground pepper - to taste to taste
8 ounces chicken livers minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated with extra to serve at the table

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Get the Pasta Water Going First

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Many home cooks, including myself, underestimate how long it takes to bring the water to a boil and then cook the pasta — you don't want a finished sauce sitting around waiting on it. Get the water boiling before you need it, and don't forget to season it with a little salt.

Cook the Pasta

Add the pasta and bring the water back to a boil. Cook until al dente — tender yet firm.

Build the Sauce Base

While the pasta cooks, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large fry pan big enough to hold both the sauce and the pasta, over medium-high heat.
Add the cipollini onions and sage and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

Add the Livers

Season the onions and sage with salt and pepper, then add the minced chicken livers. These cook quickly — about a minute or two.

Deglaze

Add a ladle of the pasta water and use it to deglaze, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Combine

When the pasta is done, reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining — its starch is what helps the sauce cling to the pasta.
Add the pasta to the pan and toss with the Parmesan cheese, some of the reserved pasta water, and additional butter. Judgment time: if it's not creamy enough, add a little more pasta water.
You can also add more butter, but don't overdo it. I think restaurants are using way too much butter in their sauces, but that's another topic for discussion.

Serve

Serve family style in a large bowl, or divide among individual bowls with extra Parmesan at the table. Warming the bowls first helps keep everything hot longer.

Notes

To peel cipollini onions, cut an X on the bottom of each one and blanch for about a minute in boiling water, then shock in an ice bath. The skins will slip right off.

I hope you give this one a try even if you're not a big fan of liver — there's plenty of flavor here, but the chicken livers don't overpower the dish. And be sure to check out Chef Vetri's cookbook, Rustic Italian Food.

Nutritional information is automatically calculated using the WP Recipe Maker nutrition database and should be considered only an estimate. Actual values may vary depending on ingredient brands, product variations, substitutions, and portion sizes.

Nutrition