Stuffed Lambs Hearts

I had never eaten heart until last night. Well, lets face it, I probably put away a good few in my student days in the guise of Iceland sausages, but I have never set out to eat heart. At a cooking demonstration I once heard Ray Smith wax lyrical about lamb's heart for a good 20 minutes. He spoke of it as if it were white truffle or beluga roe and ended the discussion by wrapping up said heart in a bag and presenting it to his favourite member of the audience. Enough.

Ingredients:
6 lambs hearts (as un-butchered as possible)
18 rashers streaky bacon
1 litre good chicken stock

For the stuffing:
Duck fat or butter
4 red onions peeled and finely chopped
4 bulbs of garlic (I used only 2)
2 glasses of red wine
225g stale white bread
salt/pepper
a couple of good sprigs of sage (leaves only, chopped)

Method:

First make the stuffing. In a pan with duck fat or butter cook your onions and garlic gently so that they do not colour but become soft and giving. Add the wine, let this reduce by half, then add the bread, season, and cook together gently for 15 minutes: if it appears too dry add a splash more wine. Cool then add the sage.

Meanwhile trim the hearts of any excess fat nodules at their openings and any obvious sinews, and the flap at the top. Finally, with your finger, scoop out any blood clots at the base of the ventricles. You are ready to stuff.

With your hand, press the stuffing into the heart, and level off the opening at the top. Then drape 3 rashers of bacon over the exposed stuffing in a star fashion forming a lid and secure with string.

Find an oven dish or deep roasting tray in which the hearts will fit snugly; stand them upright. Pour stock over - they do not need to be completely covered. Cover with tinfoil and place in a medium oven for 2.5 hours. When cooked remove and keep warm. Strain the juice and then reduce by half for a delicious sauce. Untie and serve with mashed swede.

Taken from Nose To Tail Eating - Fergus Henderson