Mbonani Daniel Mbombi (28) is fondly known as the “African Cuisine Chef”. His mouth-watering food has caught the eye of big food brands like Tastic, Nestlé and Pasta Grandé. Despite huge attention on social media, with a following of more than fifty thousand, the African food guru has managed to remain humble.
Mbombi shares his creamy beef liver pasta recipe, which he says is based on an easily accessible ingredient in the households of many South African families. High in protein and iron, beef liver is fairly cheap to buy and is a staple in African cuisine.
Ingredients:
- 500g pack spaghetti
- 1kg beef liver, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Olive oil to fry
For the sauce:
- 1 litre full cream milk
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 cup cake wheat flour
- ½ cup heavy cream (optional)
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- Salt and white or black pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
- Grated Parmesan cheese to serve – optional
Method:
1. Place the liver in a shallow dish. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and black pepper, add the lemon slices. Cover with warm water and set aside.
2. Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the pack, taking care not to overcook. Drain.
3. Heat the oil in a griddle pan until smoking hot. Fry your chopped liver in batches for ± 2 minutes.
4. Season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
5. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edge. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
6. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk slowly until the mixture is well blended (this is called a roux). Continue cooking, stirring, for 2 minutes, make sure it does not turn brown.
7. Gradually stir in the hot milk. Cook over medium heat, constantly stirring, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, frequently stirring, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
8. Add the beef liver.
9. Stir in the cream (if using) and the wine. Simmer until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a little nutmeg if desired.
10. Stir in the spaghetti and serve.
