Roasted veal sweetbreads, cockles, cauliflower cous-cous and girolles
This is a remarkable sweetbreads recipe from Adam Simmonds that tastes as good as it looks. Serve these veal sweetbreads with an intriguing combination of cockles and a mock-couscous, made using cauliflower.
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Sweetbreads
- 400g of veal sweetbreads, run under cold water for 1 hour and membrane removed
- 50ml of grapeseed oil
- 175g of butter
- salt
- white pepper
Cockles
Cockle gel
- 10g of ultratex
Cauliflower couscous
- 30g of cauliflower, grated
- 8g of butter
- salt
- pepper
Girolles
Cauliflower purée
- 400g of cauliflower florets, trimmed
- 6g of salt
Veal sauce
- 1000g of veal shoulder, diced
- 125ml of grapeseed oil
- 250g of butter
- 200ml of white wine, reduced to 70ml
- 400ml of brown chicken stock
- 400ml of white chicken stock
- 500g of mushrooms, finely sliced
- 40g of butter
- 70g of shallots, finely sliced
Parmesan gel
To plate
- 1 handful of purslane
- 1 cauliflower, raw and finely sliced
Equipment
- Sugar thermometer
- Blender
Method
1
To make the veal sauce, in a frying pan, lightly caramelise the diced veal in hot oil. Once lightly browned, add the butter. Continue to cook until golden brown, then strain
- 1000g of veal shoulder
- 250g of butter
- 125ml of grapeseed oil
3
Put the stocks and wine into a clean pan, bring to the boil, add the caramelised shallots and ¾ of the shoulder and cook for 20 minutes. Then, pass through a sieve, reduce in a fresh pan, and add the remaining ¼ of the shoulder
- 200ml of white wine
- 400ml of brown chicken stock
- 400ml of white chicken stock
4
For the cauliflower couscous, place a pan onto the stove and add the butter. When foaming, add the grated cauliflower. Cook without colouring, until tender, but still with a bit of a bite. Season and drain
- 30g of cauliflower
- 8g of butter
- salt
- pepper
5
For the cauliflower purée, steam the cauliflower florets until ¾ cooked, then season with the salt and continue to cook until soft. When cooked, place into a blender and blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if required
- 400g of cauliflower florets
- 6g of salt
6
For the cockles, heat the oil in a pan and add the sliced shallots and thyme. Sweat down, then add the cockles and roll them around in the pan. Add the wine and cover immediately for 2-3 minutes. Once cooked, take the pan off the heat and drain in a colander. Cover with cling film, separate the meat from the shells, and reserve both the juice and meat until required
7
To make the cockle gel, place the liquor in a bowl. Sprinkle in the Ultratex and whisk in thoroughly. Allow to stand and it will thicken
- 10g of ultratex
8
Bring the water up to 60°C and remove from the stove. Add the Parmesan and stir, then leave to infuse for 30–40 minutes depending on how strong the cheese is. Pass through a fine sieve, then weigh out 250ml of the liquid into a suitable bowl. Sprinkle the Ultratex in, whisking constantly
- 90g of Parmesan
- 200ml of water
- 8g of ultratex
9
Dice the sweetbreads into equal size pieces. Place onto a dry cloth and dry properly. Fry in a frying pan with the grapeseed oil. When they begin to colour, add with the butter one chunk at a time and continue to cook on a relatively high heat until golden brown, then drain
- 400g of veal sweetbreads
- 50ml of grapeseed oil
- 175g of butter
- salt
11
To serve, place dots of cauliflower purée on the plate. Scatter with the couscous, then the sweetbreads and cockles. Spoon on the girolles and then the cockle gel
12
Finish the dish with very thin slices of raw cauliflower and sea purslane. Spoon over the warm veal sauce
- 1 handful of purslane
- 1 cauliflower
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