Veal Sweetbreads with Black Pudding and Walnut Crumb

Sweetbreads can be a little intimidating if you’ve not prepared them at home before, but they are a lot easier to cook than you might think – and a real treat. Here, they’re served with a black pudding crumb, spiced carrot purée and a salad of pickled fruits and vegetables.

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Madeira sauce
1kg chicken wings
1 dash of rapeseed oil
200g of button mushrooms, sliced
2 banana shallots, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
500ml of Madeira
500ml of chicken stock
1 knob of unsalted butter
Sweetbreads
1kg veal sweetbreads, washed in cold water for 1 hour
5g of black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
10g of thyme
10g of salt
2l water
curry powder, for dusting
plain flour, for dusting
1 dash of rapeseed oil
50g of unsalted butter, diced
Crumb
150g of black pudding, finely chopped
75g of candied walnuts, finely chopped
1 knob of unsalted butter
Purée
1 tbsp of rapeseed oil
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
500g of carrots, peeled and sliced
5g of cumin powder
1 knob of ginger, large, roughly chopped
whole milk, as needed
sea salt
Salad
1 endive, separated into individual leaves
1 handful of frisée lettuce, roughly torn
2 tbsp of pickled fennel, sliced
2 tbsp of baby pickled onions, or shallots, sliced
1 plum, pickled, sliced into half moons
sorrel leaves, red-veined (optional)
1 dash of rapeseed oil
Maldon salt

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Begin by making the Madeira sauce, as this can be done several days in advance. Place the chicken wings in a large pan with a dash of oil and cook until golden all over. Add the button mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme, continue to cook until softened and beginning to colour, then pour in the Madeira. Bring to a simmer, leave to reduce a little, then pour in the chicken stock. Leave to simmer for around 4 hours, or until the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce consistency, then pass through a fine sieve and set aside

Place the sweetbreads in a large pan with the peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, salt and water. Gently bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Drain the sweetbreads, plunge into iced water to chill them quickly, then drain, peel off any sinew and cut into 8 equal portions (roughly 125g each). Set aside in the fridge

To make the purée, gently soften the carrots in the butter and oil for 5 minutes, then add the ginger. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring regularly, then pour in enough milk to just cover the vegetables. Add the cumin, bring to a simmer then cook for 25 minutes, or until the carrots are very soft

While the purée simmers, prepare the crumb. Fry the black pudding until crispy, then stir in the walnuts and add a knob of butter. Keep warm over a very low heat until ready to serve

Once the carrots are soft, transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blitz until smooth. Season to taste, then transfer to a pan to either keep warm or reheat before serving

Pat the sweetbreads dry, then dust them in flour, salt and curry powder. Add a dash of rapeseed oil to a hot frying pan and sear the sweetbreads until golden all over. Add in the butter and, once foaming, baste the sweetbreads continuously until hot throughout (around 10 minutes)

While basting the sweetbreads, bring a small pan of the reduced Madeira sauce to a simmer and whisk in a knob of butter to create a glaze. Gently reheat the purée if needed

Once the sweetbreads are cooked through, transfer them to the Madeira glaze and cover liberally with the sauce. Keep warm whilst you combine all the salad ingredients together, dressing them with rapeseed oil, salt and a dash of the pickling liquid from any of the pickles

To serve, place a swipe of the purée on each plate and a small pile of the salad at the end. Cover each sweetbread with a spoonful of the crumb, then place at the thickest end of the swipe

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