Sausage and Kidney stew

This is delicious, but I may update this; the original recipe had peas in it, and I am not sure about when to add the kidneys to the stew. But it is delicious enough that I caught Mr B fishing around in it with a serving spoon, scooping up some more. I served this with mashed potatoes and kale. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 sheep kidneys, skinned, quartered and the middle bits removed
  • 6 sausages (I used beef sausages, because they were reduced in the co-op) – cut into thirds
  • 125g bacon or pancetta, cut into strips
  • 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 200g carrots, cut into batons
  • 200g mushrooms, sliced quite thickly
  • 25g butter or 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 300ml stock
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 50ml sherry
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Set the oven to heat to 150C
  • Heat the oil in a casserole dish. When it is hot, add the bacon and cook until it is browning and the fat is running. 
  • Add the sausages and kidneys, and cook until just browning. Remove everything from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
  • Fry the onion, celery and mushrooms in the same pan over a medium heat, until softening. This will take around five minutes.
  • Add the flour, and stir it in, cooking all the while, for another minute
  • Add the stock, sherry and tomato puree, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste
  • Add the sausages and kidney back to the pan, along with the carrots. Put the lid on the casserole dish and put it into the oven. Cook for half an hour. 

Steak and Kidney Pie

We had a really good bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, and when I googled what we should eat with it, the answer was steak and kidney pie. I made this, and it was delicious. The basic recipe is in Maw Broon’s cookbook

INGREDIENTS:

  • 375g Bells ready-rolled puff pastry
  • 2 sheep’s kidneys
  • Approx 150g mushrooms, roughly chopped. 
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 50g butter
  • 450g steak
  • A little water
  • Milk or beaten egg to glaze

METHOD:

  • Turn the oven to 220C
  • Dice the steak into large chunks. Peel the kidneys of their membrane, and cut out the central fibrous tissue. Coat the meat in seasoned flour. 
  • Fry the onion gently in the butter until translucent, for around five minutes. 
  • Add the mushrooms, and continue to fry gently for another three to five minutes. 
  • Mix in the meat, and fill the pie dish with the mixture. The dish should be fairly full. Add a little water. 
  • I needed to fold the rolled pastry in half, and then gave it a gentle roll to ensure it was just a shade larger than my dish. Wet the edge of the pie dish and trim a strip of pastry, and press this onto the wetted edge of the pie dish. Cover the pie filling with the pastry, pierce a few holes to let steam out, and decorate as you wish. 
  • Glaze the pastry with egg or milk. 
  • Cook in a hot oven, 220C until the pastry is golden, and then turn the heat down to 180C and cook for a further hour and a half. 

We had mashed potatoes and garlic cabbage with this.