I was a child when Uncle Barney had his eightieth birthday party in a Jewish vegetarian restaurant. I still remember the mound of “chopped liver” on a bed of lettuce with some tomato slices. Over the years I compared recipes for vegetarian chopped liver, and I will say that my students like the taste of this mock chopped liver even more than the real thing. I know the ingredients sound bizarre in this day and age of fresh or high-quality frozen vegetables, but try it, you will be surprised how much you like it.
Ingredients
3 large onions, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
1-pound can cut green beans, drained
1-pound can green peas, drained
16 Ritz crackers
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Directions
- Sauté the onions in the oil until a dark golden brown.
- In a food processor, combine the green beans, peas, onions, crackers, eggs, and walnuts using a pulsing action to chop the mixture fairly fine.
- Season with salt and pepper, and moisten with a little mayonnaise if needed to have it resemble real chopped chicken livers. Serve with bread or crackers.
Additional Notes
- Because you cannot use chicken fat here, I would recommend the use of mayonnaise to season and bind the mixture together rather than oil.
- Whipped salad dressings are never a substitutefor high-quality mayonnaise.
- Never use fat-free or low-fat mayonnaise in this mixture unless you are planning to serve it right away. The cellulose used to thicken the mayonnaise to make it appear like the original variety will absorb moisture from the vegetables and make the mixture thick and gummy.
