Matteo’s Wasps’ Nest

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 onions, very thinly sliced
Salt
1 pound calves liver, thinly sliced
1/3 cup red wine
8 little white figs, sliced in quarters

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saute pan over a medium flame. Add the onions and cook them over low heat until they are very soft but not too colored.

Salt the onions and add the liver to the pan, add the wine and cook for about 5 minutes over a high flame, until it is perfectly dry. When the liver is almost ready, add the figs. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan.

Serve warm immediately (liver cannot be warmed again).

This is what I ate last night with Elena, by Nane della Giulia, one of Padua’s best “trattorie”.