Lamb's tongue

Homemade Estonian rye bread, sliced lamb's tongue and horseradish, beetroot and cream cheese spread.

There may have been a time when I was (at least occasionally) a kind of culinary trendsetter among Estonian foodbloggers, introducing exciting new flavours. Not any more - being stuck at home in a suburb without a car and two little kids means that I am the last one to visit newly opened cafés, I miss all the exciting restaurant review events and am the last one to hear about the best source for exciting ingredients. Take lamb's tongue. There were several local foodbloggers singing praise to this humble delicacy (first Piret, then Tuuli, followed by Zoozi), and I spent days restlessly dreaming about those little tongues. Finally, on Saturday, I demanded a trip to a new (and currently the best) market in town and returned with a whole kilogram of lamb's tongue (it's _very_ cold here and our little son turned 1 month old only today, hence the reluctance to venture out earlier). What a delight (if you like tongue, that is)!



My dear K. was kind enough to take a nice photo of them (above; apparently inspired by the movie "Saw III" that he saw recently - I cannot comment, as I refused to join him and watch this), and then let me proceed with the dish. Well, preparing lamb's tongue for use in other dishes (like the open sandwich on top and below) is the easiest thing ever. Here's what you do.

Lamb's tongue
(Keedetud tallekeel)

1 kg lamb's tongue (I had 17 pieces)
cold water
1 large onion, halved (no need to peel)
1 large celery stick (break into 3-4 pieces)
2 bay leaves
10 whole black peppercorns
5 whole allspice berries
few parsley sprigs
1 tsp salt

Rinse the tongues under cold water, place into a large saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring it to a slow boil, skimming off any froth that emerges on top.
Then add the onion, celery, bay leaves and seasoning. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 50-60 minutes, until cooked (test with a sharp knife).
Cool a little, then peel the tongues (as the tongues are quite small and there are many of them, it will take a bit of time).
Serve as they are (sliced thinly, on top of an open sandwich) or use to make salads or whatever else you fancy.



Have you had lamb's tongue before? And what's your favourite way to prepare/eat it? I'm already looking forward to buying and preparing lamb's tongue again, so any cool suggestions are welcome.

Other foodbloggers writing about lamb's tongue:
Ryan @ Nose to Tail at Home
Florian @ Food Perestroika

Grilled chicken livers in sherry and honey marinade

When planning the menu for the Midsummer's Eve, I knew I wanted something more unusual in addition to the traditional pork shashlik. I ended up making this simple grilled chicken liver dish, which was much liked by everyone. Such a quick dish to throw together and cook, ideal for those quick (yet leisurely) summertime meals in your backyard.

Serve with a green salad or a watermelon & feta or melon & blue cheese salad.

Grilled chicken livers
(Grillitud kanamaksavardad)
Source: Finnish magazine Apu (14.3.2004)
Serves 4

450-500 g chicken livers

Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, minced
a bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 Tbsp dry sherry
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp runny honey

salt and pepper to season

If you're using frozen chicken livers, then transfer them to the fridge night before.
Drain the defrozen chicken livers carefully. Cut each liver into two large pieces.
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add chicken liver. Leave to marinate for about 2-3 hours.
Pierce the chicken livers onto a wooden sticks* and grill over hot coals or under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, turning them every now and then.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.

* Soak the sticks in cold water for at least 30 minutes before - then they won't burn as quickly.

A Story of a Grilled Pig's Heart

Last week a kind friend brought us a whole pluck of a wild boar. He had been on a hunting trip to one of the island, that's why. It was late on Wednesday night, and knowing that liver needs to be cooked a.s.a.p, I simmered it with some carrots, onions and seasonings (salt, pepper, bay leaves) until cooked, to be made into a liver paté next day. The heart and the lights* had to wait - I was too tired to do anything with them in the evening.

First thing on Thursday morning, I checked with two food-loving friends if they're up for a wild boar supper on Thursday night. Of course they were. I made the liver paté, using my usual recipe (grind twice, season with salt, pepper, some brandy and soften with plenty of butter). I spent some time trying to pick a suitable recipe for the heart and lights, and eventually settled for a traditional stew. However, when I went to pick up the to other elements of the pluck, I realised that they were off. Obviously the summer heat wave we're currently having here in Estonia had quickened any processes that go on in raw meat, and there was no way I could use these for cooking.

I had about 2 hours before my friends were arriving for a feast of liver, hearts and lungs :) Luckily, our local supermarket has a very reasonable meat counter (as far as pork cuts are conserned, that is), and K. quickly brought me three nice pig's hearts. You see, I had promised so-called alternative cuts for dinner, so I decided to stick to it. A quick search in the web gave me an idea for grilled pig's heart, and I must say I haven't been so positively surprised about a dish for a while. The grilled heart was different, tasty and very meaty. I'd definitely make this again, when I see nice pig's hearts on the counter.

* An euphemism for lungs.

Grilled pig's heart
(Grillitud seasüda)
Serves about 6



2-3 pig's hearts
half a cup of dry red wine
5-6 Tbsp olive oil
half a cup of chopped herbs (parsley and/or basil)
2-3 large garlic cloves, slices
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Trim the hearts of any sinew and gristle, if necessary (we bought prepared ones). Cut into 7-8 mm slices, and put into a bowl.
Add other ingredients and stir to combine. Leave to marinate in room temperature, covered, for about an hour.
Heat a griddle until very hot, then grill the sliced meat on both sides until golden brown and cooked.

Serve with a drizzle of good balsamico (we used Belazu).

Oxtail braised in dark beer

Have you ever cooked oxtail before? 

Until mid-November, I hadn't. I had eaten it before (for example during our trip to Spain last March-April), but never actually handled uncooked oxtail in my kitchen. Then, back in November, we had a Offal and Alternative Cuts Cook-Off on my Estonian site, and upon K's insistence, I decided to make an oxtail stew. If you get hold of good-quality oxtail (e.g. with lots of juicy soft meat attached), then there's not much you need to do with your oxtail. Basically, I had to decide whether I want to braise mine in beer or wine (I chose dark beer, Saku Jõulupruul) and which vegetables to go for (carrots, celery and turnips were my choice). Once you've made those decisions, you're well on your way to a beautiful dinner with friends.

PS I will be eating some again tonight. K. has just informed us that our friends P&K have invited us for a dinner of oxtail tonight. Mmmmm... :P

Oxtail braised in beer
(Õlles hautatud härjasaba)
Serves 2-3 (generously)

1 kg oxtail, cut into chunks
1 to 2 Tbsp oil
200 ml (just under a cup) of dark beer
500 ml (2 cups) good-quailty beef stock
2 carrots
2 small turnips
2 celery sticks
2 to 3 smaller onions
1 bay leaf
2 thyme branches
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil on a large frying pan, add the oxtail pieces and brown them on all sides on a high heat. Transfer into a large heavy-bottomed oven dish with a lid (f.ex. a Dutch oven).
Pour the beer and stock into the pan, and bring into a boil. Simmer on a low heat for about an hour, skimming any froth and impurities that appear on the surface during the beginning. When no more froth is appearing, then cover the stockpot with a lid.
Peel the carrots and turnips and cut into chunks. Cut the celery sticks into an inch-long pieces, the onions into quarters. Dry-fry all vegetables on a frying pan, until they're lovely golden brown on all sides (this considerably improves the flavour). Add the browned vegetables to the stockpot alongside the spices.
Simmer for another 2-3 hours, until the meat easily falls off the bones.
Season and serve with my caraway-roasted potatoes.

Give offal a chance: Beef liver gravy, Estonian style

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters, or eGullet for short, as some of you may know, is a huge online food forum with thousands of members. I've been a member since February 2006, and although my main food-related online presence is certainly here on Nami-nami, I do use eGullet quite frequently. It's a great source of food-related information and inspiration, though the style and format are very different from foodblogging as we know. Every now and then the hosts of the forum ask one of their members to do a week-long foodblog, where an eGulleteer keeps a picture diary about shopping for food, preparing food, and eating food, with various tidbits about life and food in general thrown in. Well, I had a chance to do one of those eG foodblogs last week, which was fun, if a bit exhausting (I hardly had time to spend with this foodblog!) On the first day, one of the readers asked me if I could cook any exotic meat a la caribou and such like. I jokingly replied that we only eat pork, beef, veal, rabbit/hare, wild boar, venison, elk and brown bear* in Estonia, and none of them qualifies as exotic :) So I decided to go with an unusual cut of meat instead, and do something Estonian with it, and that's how I ended up making an Estonian beef liver gravy, maksakaste.

Beef liver gravy, Estonian style
(Maksakaste)
Adapted from Eesti Köök/Estonian Cooking (2003)



500 grams beef liver, cut into thin long strips (1 cm x 4-5 cm)
2 Tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 Tbsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
200 ml cold water
100 ml sour cream
salt
fresh dill

To serve:
boiled potatoes
fresh dill, finely chopped
salted cucumbers, sliced

Mix flour with pepper.
Cut liver into thin strips**, drench in flour/pepper mix.
Heat oil in a frying pan, add liver and onion and brown on low heat.
Add any leftover flour, add cold water and heat, stirring regularly, until the sauce thickens. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Add sour cream, stirring regularly, and simmer on a low heat for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt, garnish with dill.
Serve with boiled potatoes and sliced salted cucumbers.

* I am not claiming that I have tried all those various meats, nor that they're all eaten regularly in Estonia.
** Click here to see a photo with step-by-step instructions.

Another way of serving haggis, neeps & tatties

That's exactly how I saw haggis, neeps & tatties served at Peckhams on Nicholson Street in Edinburgh earlier this month (see photo here). I dined there with my friend Melinda on my first night in town, and I simply had to try this at home. Not bad, not bad at all :)

My sauce is a bit different, however - although unconventional, I want my haggis with a caramelised onion gravy.

MacSween of Edinburgh haggis is one food-related thing I miss from Scotland every now and then...