Twiddley-Diddley-Kidneys

There seem to be very few people (veggies excepted, ha-ha!) who really dislike kidneys.  My whole family ADORE them and we eat them quite often; mainly in Kidney Turbigo, but also occasionally in Kidney & Red Wine Pie, as made by my Mum and now by me.  This sort-of riff of the classic Devilled Kidneys is another favourite, with mushrooms added and a wee scoosh of sherry.  It's also very nice with just the mushrooms if you want a vegetarian dish, naturally swap the chicken stock for vegetable (or leave it out entirely, and see below). 

Sooooo... for coring the kidneys, you need a sharp knife and a pair of sharp scissors.  Cut the kidney in half lengthways.  As you will see, there is a distinct gristly white core.  Use your scissors to snip this away; don't worry if you lose a little meat as it comes away.  If (as usual) there are any little bits of the core left , snip these out separately.  Halve the kidneys again for this recipe, then I soak the kidney pieces in milk until I cook them.  This may well be nonsensical superstition, but it's what I do.

Sherried Kidneys & Mushrooms

This also makes a lovely first course, served on a crisp piece of toasted bread. The amount below serves 4 as a main course, so should easily provide for 6 to 8 people as a 'starter'. One proviso, though; omit the stock from the recipe in this case... We like quite a 'saucy' dish when we eat this as a main, not so good for a first course.

40g butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp English mustard powder

8 lambs’ kidneys, halved, cored and halved again

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

250g mushrooms, sliced

50ml dry sherry

100ml hot chicken stock

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Melt the butter in a large pan and soften the onion.  Meanwhile, add to the flour a little salt, some ground black pepper and the mustard powder.  Toss the kidney pieces in the seasoned flour, then  add it all to the pan and fry until the kidneys are brown.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are just tender.  Pour in the sherry, then add the stock and stir in the Worcestershire sauce.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened somewhat.   Throw a handful of chopped parsley over, and serve with rice.

Cath xx