Look at that. Not for too long, mind – you may go blind. A glistening lump of indeterminate protein nudging a pool of saffron-coloured spackle. It can't be helped. This dish is not a looker. Tasty, though.
Last week, in an attempt to shake off a grippe-induced lassitude, I cycled across the beautiful Szabadsag bridge and around Gellert, the part of Buda overshadowed by the citadella angel. I discovered a Syrian butcher/deli on Karinthy Frigyes ut, and came over all breathy, like an opera singer hoving into view of cake, at the vittles on display: lamb, butchered into recognisable cuts. Legs, shoulders, heart, testicles, tongues - not just flesh as victim of industrial accident. The friendly man behind the counter scolded me when I asked for a kilo of hearts, quite rightly asking me to nominate a precise number so that he wouldn't have to take a knife to one.
Heart, brain, eye, testicle – food that suffuses the eater with the life-force of the eaten. It sparks the paleomammalian brain, conferring courage, wisdom, fecundity or foresight.
Braised, stuffed lamb heart
Allow one heart per person. The following recipe serves 4. I served this on a root vegetable mash, good for mopping up the limpid sauce. Stuffing a heart can be a messy endeavour. I use a sausage gun, but a piping bag will do the trick too.
Clean the hearts, washing out any dried blood and trimming off excess fat, taking care not to puncture the heart wall if possible.
To make the stuffing, sweat 2 finely chopped onions in 30g butter for 10 minutes in a large non-stick frying pan, stirring occasionally. Add 250g finely chopped button mushrooms – you're making a duxelle, so you need to chop very finely, then use a rocking motion with your big knife to mince further. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and turn the heat to medium. No need to add any liquid or oil to the pan – you need to cook the mushrooms for 10 to 15 minutes until they give up their water and reduce in size. Now add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, ½ cup fine breadcrumbs from a stale loaf, ½ tsp chilli flakes and season to taste. Cook for 3 minutes and remove from the heat.
When cool, spoon the stuffing into your piping receptacle and inject the stuffing into the heart tubes. Wrap the hearts in streaky bacon – 1 or 2 slices per heart – and truss with butcher's twine (or skewer with a toothpick if you wish). Place the hearts into a small casserole dish so they fit snugly. Pour over 150ml brown beer and cook, covered with foil, in the oven at 180ºC for 2 hours, by which time the hearts should be tender and yielding. Uncover for the last half hour of cooking to colour the meat. Serve over your choice of starch with a good spoonful of the cooking liquor.
