By Joan Nathan, The New York Times
Most people have heard of chopped liver, a humble holiday appetizer in Ashkenazi Jewish cooking. (Think of the refrain “What am I, chopped liver?” to indicate its secondary place on the table — always an appetizer, never the main.)
The dish has a long history, probably originating in Alsace-Lorraine in the Middle Ages, making its way to Eastern Europe in the 14th century and eventually landing in the United States in the late 19th century with Eastern European immigrants. It goes without saying that, in its traditional kosher iteration — chicken, cow or goose liver that has been ritually slaughtered, salted and drained of the blood, mixed with onions cooked in rendered chicken or goose fat and hard-boiled eggs, chopped in a wooden bowl, in a preparation known as “gehackte leber” — it was most certainly not a dish for vegetarians. But that limitation bred innovation.
Starting in the 20th century, recipes for meatless chopped liver appeared in American Jewish cookbooks, and the dish showed up on menus at New York City’s dairy restaurants: as “chopped vegetarian liver” at Ratner’s, “dairy liver” at Steinberg’s or just “vegetarian liver” at the Garden Cafeteria.
It even made an appearance in a Feb. 8, 1975, issue of The New York Times, adapted from “Bum Steers,” a fake meat cookbook by Frances Sheridan Goulart, whose recipe featured canned green beans, soy or peanut oil, onion, garlic, a hard-boiled egg, salt and brewer’s yeast. (That the recipe was positioned as a cat food was less than ideal.)
In recent years, at Hanukkah and Shabbat tables alike, I’ve seen vegetarian dips pop up in new and flavorful guises in Jewish homes around the world. Instead of using traditional chopped liver, cooks will often include two or three dips as a first course after blessings over the challah. The meat-free dips, delicious smeared onto that same challah, might include hummus or egg salad — or, of course, mock chopped liver.
My version, similar to one I first encountered in Jerusalem many years ago, now calls for fresh green beans and caramelized onions. Walnuts impart a meatiness here, but if pecans are preferable, use them instead. For me, dill ups the flavor. Then, to make it vegan, the hard-boiled eggs — traditional in both vegetarian and nonvegetarian versions — are swapped out for vegetables, like mushrooms, eggplant or peas.
It’s so delicious that anyone would be pleased to be considered the chopped liver.
Recipe: Mock Chopped Liver With Green Beans and Walnuts
By Joan Nathan
My vegan take on the surprisingly delicious Jewish tradition of mock chopped liver feels bright, with fresh sautéed green beans and zucchini, along with caramelized onions and toasted walnuts. Traditionally made with hard-boiled eggs for vegetarians, this dish has endless variations, and welcomes foundational ingredients like chopped mushrooms, diced eggplant or peas. Nuts like walnuts or pecans help evoke the color of real chopped liver and add a lovely crunch; caramelized onions, sautéed in olive oil rather than the peanut oil of yesteryear, are the sine qua non of good chopped liver. Dill delivers healthy brightness. Serve this mock chopped liver with crackers or challah as a first course for Hanukkah or any meal, traditionally with three accompanying dips like hummus, egg salad or genuine chopped liver.
Yield: About 3 cups
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup roughly chopped walnut pieces
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
- 1 small zucchini (about 1/3 pound), cut in about 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Crackers or challah, for serving
Preparation
1. Dry-toast the walnuts in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 5 minutes, watching closely so they don’t burn. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium-high. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden at the edges, about 10 minutes. Stir in the green beans and zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender but not mushy and the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes more.
3. Transfer the green bean mixture and the toasted walnuts to a food processor and pulse until chunky but not puréed. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Scoop the mixture into an attractive serving dish and sprinkle with the dill.
5. Serve at room temperature, with crackers, challah or whatever you like. (The mock chopped liver can be made a few days in advance, stored in the fridge and sprinkled with dill just before serving.)
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.