Awful(?) Offal
At my last shopping, I could mostly find offal meats like liver and kidneys which I’m ok with as I grew up eating it! But, I know my husband is not the most enthusiastic fan. So, I quickly made up a plan for those, right there in the middle of the supermarket isle.
I took a tray of chicken livers home and made patê by pan frying it with butter and onions and then blitzing it all with some seasoning and dried herbs. It yielded two jars (jam type) of patê. And I tell you… it is delicious! Malcolm (the husband) couldn’t have enough of it on bread! I had my share on crackers.
With the lamb kidneys, – I got a packet with three pairs – I used one pair to make a lamb stew in the slow cooker. There is a myriad of recipes of slow cooking stews with lamb kidney on the internet. Another success as we both liked it, and we had enough left to go into the freezer.
Lamb stew ready to go in the freezer, photo by Fern Rodrigues
The other two pairs of kidney, I used last night to make steak and kidney meat pies. Because I couldn’t find puff pastry at the supermarket, I made my own. As you can see, it doesn’t look great, and to be honest with you, the pastry needed more time to bake… anyway, the filling was quite good, so I’ll be making it again!
Steak and kidney pie, photo by Fern Rodrigues
Now, you may ask “why did she buy awful offal, specially when her husband doesn’t even like it?”. Well, “I like it!” and that alone should be enough reason, but, also because they are very nutritious type of meat. They usually contain a lot of folate, vitamin A, iron, protein and good fats. Also, because they cost A LOT LESS than other meat cuts: around A$8.00/kg – two, three or four times cheaper than the usual cuts of lamb or beef.
So, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to blend some offal with lamb or beef in different dishes and see the results. Now, I’m quite confident I’ll be able to incorporate it in our regular diet. On top of the $ saving, it can give us a boost of important nutrients.
If there is any positive side to this health crisis, I’d say this could be it: the opportunity to open our minds to new possibilities to feeding ourselves and our loved ones. Those foods neglected on the shelves, unwanted, might represent valuable alternatives of nourishment, providing important nutrients. So, instead of pulling your hair out because you couldn’t find this or that meat cut, try the “awful” ones for once. You may be surprised with the results!
