Frugal Food: Have a Heart

I may have mentioned elsewhere that I like offal.  Lots.  And if you want to eat meat and yet be frugal you will probably have to chose between expensive cuts once in a blue moon, cheap and nasty intensively produced and processed junk, or buying the cheaper wobbly bits and being imaginative with your cooking.  So this weekend, the Sunday meaty special was stuffed lamb's hearts. Tasty, lean and cheap as chips.  Probably cheaper.

The hearts themselves were 1.50€ for two and the stuffing was some left-over dahl from earlier in the week, itself a super-cheap mix of lentils, a few spices and half an onion.  With a splash of red wine (1.28€ a litre) to moisten plus seasoning, the whole dish was just under a Euro per person.  

 Don't be put off by the tubes and fat.  The hard fat on the outside is easily trimmed off and a flexible filleting knife makes removal of the inner workings an easy process.  Carefully work round the inside, removing the tubes and any bloody patches but try not to puncture the outer wall.  Any bits of lean meat that come out can be chopped and mixed with the stuffing.

Two hollowed out hearts ready for filling with a bit of lean meat removed in error, and all the nasty bits on the right.

Meanwhile, the trimmings don't go to waste and will keep the cat happy for a day, saving on a portion of bought cat food!

The hearts go into a casserole dish with as much of the filling packed into the cavity as possible.  The rest of the stuffing just goes into the dish around the hearts, with the addition of about a quarter of a glass of red wine.  You don't want the hearts to be swimming in liquid.  With the lid on, the hearts go into a low oven - about gas mark 3, but my oven is always very approximate - and cook gently for about an hour.  I've found that they don't hurt if left longer, but too high or fast a cooking will toughen them up.

These were served with roast potatoes and the last of the winter squash, also roasted.  For a nice bit of circularity we also had the first of the broad beans, the earliest of the new season vegetables.

Other ways to have a heart?  I've stuffed them with breadcrumbs and onions, garlic and fresh herbs or with rice or barley.  The secret is good flavouring as the meat itself has a certain subtlety.  Or, getting away from the braising thing, try cutting into strips and flash or stir-frying very quickly.  At that price you can afford to experiment!