Sheep's hearts cooked in red wine

This is a nice recipe for lamb's or sheep's hearts. Hearts from an adult sheep will need slightly longer cooking than lamb hearts.

To serve 4.

4 lamb or sheep hearts

Marinade:
100 ml table vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 laurel leaves
salt and pepper

For cooking:
100 g butter
100 g smoked bacon, finely chopped
10-15 shallots, sliced
1-2 tbsp flour
400-500 ml red wine
100-200 ml water
salt and pepper

200 g whole small mushrooms, sautéed

Cut the fat off the hearts, flush them well under running cold water and cut lengthwise into four parts each. Make the marinade and marinade the heart pieces for 4-6 hours. (I found 4 hours sufficient, but 6 will give a more intense flavour).

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or deep frying pan. Remove the hearts from the marinade and brown in the butter. Add bacon and onions. Sprinkle the sifted flour into the pan and let it soak up the butter. Add red wine and water, stir to mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer until the hearts are cooked, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add the sautéed mushrooms and season to taste if necessary. Serve hot.

There are no suggestions as to what to serve with this, but I suggest poached potatoes and a fresh salad and a nice red wine.

I am cooking another heart dish as I type this and will post it if it turns out good.

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