Last weekend was a special one. The Chef had both days off (which almost never happens), so our tiny, yet well-equipped and lovable kitchen hosted a double whammy of culinary operations in which I attempted to learn how to cook.
After a morning of looking at art we couldn’t afford at The Affordable Art Fair (I know, ironic, right?), we stumbled into Selfridges Food Hall on Saturday afternoon in search of something less dear and far easier to swallow. The Chef made a beeline for the butchers counter - I knew exactly what he was looking for. And when our eyes simultaneously set on the wet, plump, milky-pink chunks of veal throat sweetbreads, my stomach fluttered. This was a guarantee that tonight’s meal would be no less than delicious, even if I was involved in the cooking process. We then moved along to the poultry section and picked up some beautifully shiny brown chicken livers as well for Sunday.
One may argue that seeing as this is my second cooking lesson, attempting to master a sweetbreads dish seems a little (if not a lot) too farfetched; surely it’s way too technically advanced for an amateur. And technically, that is true. But what is the point of having a one-on-one with a professional chef if you can’t skip a few steps? So, it was pan-fried veal sweetbreads with sautéed mushrooms and caramelised chicory for dinner. Mmmm... even writing about it makes me hungry.
The most challenging part was removing the membrane so needless to say I left this up to the pro. (I guess this is cheating a little bit but it’s also good to know that the butchers can perform the task for you anyway.)
To celebrate the start of our offal weekend adventures we opened a bottle of the 2009 J.M. Boillot Montagny 1er Cru - an intense, oaky chardonnay with an intriguing and unusually fresh finish. A robust, yet bright white wine with a good amount of acidity that went surprisingly well with the sweetbreads. Ahhh, the sweetbreads (I can’t help but make that noise in my head every time I mention them) … Every bite was like heaven. No, more like arriving at heaven’s doors to discover that it’s the biggest Prada store in the world. The thin brown, salty and crispy shell on the outside broke in my mouth to reveal the succulent, delicate texture and the creamy richness, followed by a dull, mild offal after taste that lingered just a moment on the palette before it was all over too soon. While the sweetness of the caramelised chicory contrasted with the overwhelmingly rich sweetbreads, the mushrooms, which gave off a wonderfully meaty, woody, sweet aroma, added an earthy dimension that pulled everything together perfectly.
Now, didn’t I say it was going to be a spectacular weekend?
Ingredients:
100g chestnut mushrooms - finely diced
100g oyster mushrooms - cut into strips
2 shallots - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
a handful of parsley - finely chopped
50g butter
squeeze of lemon juice
2 chicory
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
200g veal sweetbreads
olive oil
1. Put a third of the butter in a frying pan; add the chopped shallots and garlic; cook for five minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook on a high heat for five minutes until cooked. Add the crème fraîche, stir in then finish with the chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Put to one side and keep warm.
2. Melt a third of the butter in a pan and heat up. Add the chicory, season and cook for two minutes before adding the sugar. Cook for a further three minutes until golden and caramelised. Put to one side and keep warm.
3. Add a little olive oil in a frying pan. Season the sweetbreads and add to the pan. Cook for five minutes on a medium to high heat until they start to go crispy and golden brown. Add the remaining butter, flip the sweetbreads and cook for a further five minutes, all the while constantly basting the sweetbreads with butter. To test whether the sweetbreads are cooked, take a metal skewer and gently slide into the sweetbread. If it slides in easily, it’s cooked; if it doesn’t, leave on the stove for a further two minutes.
4. To serve, spoon some of the mushrooms on to the plate, place the chicory beside it and then top with sweetbreads.
Our weekend finished with chicken livers on toast with caramelised onions, bacon and poached egg. This time we chose the beautifully delicate 2000 Chateau Haut-Bages Monpelou, Pauillac – a true ‘old-school French’ style wine normally paired with more sophisticated French cuisine or red meat dishes. An almost equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a tiny bit of Cabernet Franc which contributed to the lovely floral aroma, meant that it had very typical characteristics of a Bordeaux. It was one of my favourites in a long time and I should have been gutted that we didn’t wait to drink it with food with a bit more finesse. Surprisingly its medium-full body and silky tannins were just strong enough to conquer the earthy, meaty livers with that salty bacon and the richness of the egg. I didn’t regret it one bit.
2. Melt a third of the butter in a pan and heat up. Add the chicory, season and cook for two minutes before adding the sugar. Cook for a further three minutes until golden and caramelised. Put to one side and keep warm.
3. Add a little olive oil in a frying pan. Season the sweetbreads and add to the pan. Cook for five minutes on a medium to high heat until they start to go crispy and golden brown. Add the remaining butter, flip the sweetbreads and cook for a further five minutes, all the while constantly basting the sweetbreads with butter. To test whether the sweetbreads are cooked, take a metal skewer and gently slide into the sweetbread. If it slides in easily, it’s cooked; if it doesn’t, leave on the stove for a further two minutes.
4. To serve, spoon some of the mushrooms on to the plate, place the chicory beside it and then top with sweetbreads.
Our weekend finished with chicken livers on toast with caramelised onions, bacon and poached egg. This time we chose the beautifully delicate 2000 Chateau Haut-Bages Monpelou, Pauillac – a true ‘old-school French’ style wine normally paired with more sophisticated French cuisine or red meat dishes. An almost equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a tiny bit of Cabernet Franc which contributed to the lovely floral aroma, meant that it had very typical characteristics of a Bordeaux. It was one of my favourites in a long time and I should have been gutted that we didn’t wait to drink it with food with a bit more finesse. Surprisingly its medium-full body and silky tannins were just strong enough to conquer the earthy, meaty livers with that salty bacon and the richness of the egg. I didn’t regret it one bit.
It was the perfect Sunday plate: simple, hearty and packed full of protein, complete with all the flavours you crave when nursing a hangover. (For the record, I was perfectly fine but thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.) More importantly, it was tasty, uncomplicated and quick. Start cooking at 7.30pm, and if you can chop as fast as The Chef does, you’ll be done in time to catch the X-Factor results. And if not, well, I’d choose livers over Louis Walsh any day.
Ingredients:
250g chicken livers
2 onions - finely sliced
1 clove garlic - finely sliced
2 poached eggs
4 rashers of streaky bacon
50g butter
50 ml red wine vinegar
bread
1. Add half the butter to a pan, add sliced onions and garlic; season and cook gently for five minutes. Add red wine vinegar and cook for a further 10 minutes. Keep warm.
2. Grill the bacon until crispy and toast bread.
3. To cook the chicken livers, add a little bit of olive oil to a hot pan. Season the chicken livers and then pan fry for two minutes. Add the remaining butter, turn over and cook for another one minute.
4. To serve, spread the cooked onions over the toast, place a couple of strips of bacon on top, followed by the chicken livers and the poached egg.
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