Grilled Foie Gras

Serves 4 to 6

The first time i purchased foie gras in Israel was from a cooler strapped to the back of a bicycle. It was the summer of 2003, and with my brother Dave’s help, I was preparing a dinner party for my mother. When her French friend Jeannot heard that I was looking for foie gras, he offered to help. An hour later, the bicycle man showed up outside my mother’s apartment.

Foie gras production originated in Egypt over 2,500 years ago and, at one point, Israel was a major producer, providing kosher foie gras to the French and American markets. Production is banned in Israel, but foie gras is still served in restaurants and kebab shops. It’s usually goose liver (a bit meatier than the duck liver found in the United States) and perfect for skewering to grill over charcoal. This approach to foie gras is the polar opposite of the refined French techniques I was schooled in. You cut a lobe of foie gras into chunks, and grill them until just before they catch on fire. This may be the most decadent way to eat foie gras, because it treats the liver like a piece of meat rather than a fragile delicacy.

We serve grilled foie gras on laffa bread to soak up the fat. If there’s is no foie gras bicycle messenger near you, these marinades are great with chicken livers, grilled chicken, or lamb. Check out Dartagnan.com; their foie gras chunks cost less than whole lobes.

•   Kosher salt
• 1 pound foie gras, cubed
•   Laffa (see recipe) or store-bought lavash flatbread
•   Basic Tehina Sauce (see recipe)
•   Carob molasses (see sidebar)
•   Handful pistachios

● Dissolve 2 tablespoons of the salt in 4 cups cold water. Add ice. Soak the foie gras cubes in the ice water solution, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 hours. This cleanses the liver.

● Heat several metal skewers in a large roasting pan filled with very hot water. When the skewers are hot to the touch, thread the foie gras cubes onto them. Season well with the remaining 1½ teaspoons salt.

● Transfer the skewers to the freezer for 30 minutes. (If the foie gras isn’t cold and firm enough, it will melt onto your coals.) Grill directly over hot coals just until the cubes are a bit charred outside. Serve immediately with laffa and tehina sauce, with carob molasses drizzled over the whole plate. Scatter pistachios on top.