I am a huge fan of heart - especially Welsh lamb heart! It is ridiculously underrated, so versatile, and PERFECT FOR A BBQ GRILL!! Plus it’s super-healthy and crazy cheap.
Welsh mountain lambs spend their days exploring our magnificent landscape, breathing fresh air and grazing not just high-quality grass but also berries, flowers and wild herbs. I believe all this shines through in the delicate, stunning flavour of the heart, which gives us a taste of the beautiful life each lamb has led. Man, that's poetic!
If you've never cooked a heart before, start by giving this surf 'n' turf recipe a go. As Black Axe Mangal's Lee Tiernan (the BAM to my BOOM!) said while we were prepping this dish together, people tend to be intimidated by offal because they think it's going to taste a certain way but, honestly, this tastes just like lamb. Gorgeous, mouthwatering lamb.
Take a couple of minutes to trim the fat, sinus and veins beforehand and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a lean, pure and delicious meat... perfect for marinading and grilling over a SMOKING-HOT FIRE!! (If the prep makes you feel a bit like Dr. Lecter, just swap out 'a nice Chianti' for some natural wine - we had A La Natural Rouge by Patrick Bouju, Ochin Clovis and Action Bronson. So good.)
Ingredients
Lamb's heart
Fish sauce
Garlic
Olive oil
Hispi cabbage
Shrimp paste
Unsalted butter
Cabbage
Katsuobushi
Dried nori seaweed
Method
Trim fat and connective tissue from the heart.
Marinade with fish sauce, garlic & dash of oil.
Blanch hispi cabbage AKA sweetheart cabbage (a more romantic name) for a few minutes.
Blend fermented shrimp paste and unsalted butter together.
Cut the cabbage in half and rub with oil & charr on the BBQ.
Heat up the shrimp butter.
Grill the lamb hearts on a hot BBQ for about a minute each side. Slice and leave to rest in a bowl. Best served pink.
Add shrimp butter onto the cabbage halves, making sure every nook and cranny is covered. Top with the sliced hearts and resting juices, finished off with Katsuobushi and dried nori seaweed.