A variation on Ronald Johnson’s deviled kidneys.
The Poet Laureate of britishfoodinamerica riffs on a British classic. A simple and satisfying supper on toast for two; may be doubled or otherwise altered in amount.
-about 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
-about 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
-about I Tablespoon minced shallot
-about 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
-cayenne
-4 lamb kidneys, split and cored of white membrane
-about 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
-toast for two (or as appropriate)
-about 1 Tablespoon minced parsley
- Make the devil by mixing up the mustard, juice, shallot, Worcestershire and cayenne.
- Melt the butter in a heavyskillet over high heat and quickly sear the kidneys on each side: You are not trying to cook them through.
- Reduce the heat to medium low, add the devil to the pan and coat the kidneys and cook them to your taste; we like the centers slightly pink. You should not need even 5 minutes.
- Pile the deviled kidneys on toast, pile the parsley on them and serve hot.
Notes:
- You can, as Johnson suggests, substitute veal kidneys for the lambs’. Clean them of white membrane too, then slice them into big coins about 3/8 of an inch thick. They are milder than lambs’ kidneys.
- Johnson’s recipe uses grated onion instead of our shallots.
- He slices lambs’ as well as veal kidneys ¼ inch thick and drops his devil into the pan to bubble up before adding the kidney; in our experience that process is sticky, splatty and messy. It also means you get no crunchy sear. He also likes his kidneys done a little longer, “until all traces of pink are gone.”