K is for Kidney

K is for Kidney

 Lamb's Kidney

Kidney is another thing which used to be eaten a lot in England and is certainly used in Europe. I personally have used beef (or ox as it is called in the UK) kidney and lamb's kidneys off and on all my life. The beef kidney is best for Steak and Kidney pie or pudding

Beef Kidney

although people do use lamb's kidneys for it too. In my mind lamb's kidneys are best for frying for breakfast or making into Devilled Kidneys which used to be a very popular Victorian breakfast dish. My father wasn't quite a Victorian but when he was born people were still eating that way so he imbibed these kinds of dishes with his mother's milk as it were. We always had wonderful breakfasts at home

and kidneys appeared on the menu many times, along with kippers, smoked haddock, herrings fried in oatmeal, salt beef, belly of pork and many other things which are difficult to obtain these days. None of these boring old cereals for my father thank you. I am making myself hungry. I will have to go to the local market for some lamb's Kidneys. I have included a picture of Steak and Kidney Pudding which I used to make quite a lot at one time. Unfortunately, the suet pudding, which is delicious, tends to include way too many calories for me these days so I just make the steak and kidney, without the pudding part. No, this is not a sweet pudding, it is quite savoury and delicious.

By trimming, this recipe means cutting the kidney in half and then removing all the white part which I do with scissors.

Devilled kidneys on toast



By James Martin
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter
4 lambs' kidneys, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp English mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
2 slices white bread, toasted
1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley


Method



Heat a frying pan until hot, then add the butter and kidneys and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden-brown all over.


Place the Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, lemon juice, mustard powder and cayenne powder into a bowl and whisk together well.


Pour the dressing onto the kidneys and stir well to combine. Cook for a further minute or two, until the kidneys are completely cooked through. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.


To serve, place the toast onto two plates and top each slice with the kidneys and pan juices. Garnish with flatleaf parsley.


Have a great day