Jen’s “improved” chicken liver ragu

Chicken second courses

My husband is a cocktail geek, and many of his pre-prohibition era cocktail books have recipes for “Improved” versions of various classic drinks. I’ve made a basic chicken liver ragu for years now, and while it was always satisfying, I still felt like it was lacking something. Many cool weekend afternoons and tubs of chicken livers later, I have arrived at this "Improved" version, and I have to say I’m pretty darned happy with it. The missing link, of course, was pork – a bit of pancetta to add both fat and flavor to the livers, which can be a little dry on their own. This recipe makes a lot of sauce – about 5 cups worth – but it freezes really well. For 4 servings, I generally toss 2.5 cups of the sauce with about a pound of hot cooked pasta (wide ribbons like pappardelle, tagliarelli, or fettuccine, or a chunky shape like rigatoni all work well), adding a bit of the pasta water to help the sauce cling to the noodles.