For 4 people: 500 g calf's liver, 300 g cleaned porcini mushrooms, 1 shallot, 4 tbsp butter, ¼ l cream, lemon juice, ½ bunch parsley, 3 tbsp flour, salt, pepper.
Slice dried porcini mushrooms, finely dice shallot. Quickly roast mushrooms in hot butter while stirring, add shallot cubes, salt, pepper, deglaze with cream. Reduce and season with lemon juice. Cut the calf's liver into slices about 1 cm thick, pepper, coat in flour and roast briefly in foaming butter. Only then add salt. Spread the creamed mushrooms on 4 plates, sprinkle with chopped parsley and arrange the liver strips on top. Schupfnudeln taste good with it.
With Waldemar Thomas at the butchery Hesselbach in Frankfurt-Heddernheim
.In the middle of the narrow alleys and one-way streets of Heddernheim lies a spotless butcher's shop, the family business of the Hesselbachs, which has been here for 40 years and unites three generations under one roof. Father Gustav, who once came to Frankfurt from the Bavarian Rhön, met his wife Inge, became self-employed and was soon able to acquire the present property. Asked whether it is currently possible to come into one's own in such a short time, son Karlheinz, who represents the second generation with his wife Elke and brother Lothar, answers: "If you have good goods, you can still earn money as a butcher today". As an artisan butcher, mind you, because all sausages and hams are homemade, apart from some salamis.
The Hesselbachs get their large cattle from the Wetterau and have them slaughtered in a plant in Butzbach, the pigs come from Franconia to Klaa Paris.
Both are first-class goods, Karlheinz Hesselbach assures, and you can believe it confidently, the Heddernheimer butchery but for twenty years the painted house in Sachsenhausen with the very popular blood and liver sausages. The former patron of this cider institution, Rigobert Hanauske, was himself a specialist and knew what he owed his discerning guests.
When asked about the reasons for the extraordinary quality of his home-made sausages, Karlheinz Hesselbach again points to the quality of the meat and the fact that only natural spices are used, no ready-made mixtures. The market leader likes his liver sausages and blood sausages so much that he likes to eat them plain; they always come fresh out of the kettle on Tuesday afternoons. Also the tender, juicy cooked ham does not need to hide.
While on weekdays the closer and further neighbourhood frequent the business well, can be served by Inge and Elke Hesselbach, numerous regular customers from further away also find themselves at the weekend. And this, although the "butchery pur" with its clearly smaller assortment differs strongly from the inner-city sausage boutiques. But everything is indeed "homemade" and of high rank. Three- to four-week-aged rump steak, tenderloin as well as veal. It is pink in color, for it comes from dairy calves - where else is there such a thing? So every fortnight calf's liver, the finest of livers, is to be had. With this delicacy, plus fresh porcini mushrooms, the gloomiest autumn day is quite bearable.
Butchery
.strong>Gustav, Inge, Karlheinz, Elke and Lothar Hesselbach
Mark-Aurel-Str. 18
60439 Frankfurt am Main-Heddernheim
Phone and Fax 069-572166
Internet: <link http: www.metzgerei-hesselbach.de _blank>www.metzgerei-hesselbach.de
Mo-Fri: 8-13 u. (except Wed) 15-18.30, Sat 7-12
from Waldemar Thomas