Veal Sweetbreads Recipe with Cauliflower Couscous

Roasted veal sweetbreads, cockles, cauliflower cous-cous and girolles

Main
easy
4
4 hours 30 minutes, plus rinsing the sweetbreads

PT4H30M

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

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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

500g of cockles
25g of shallots
1 sprig of thyme
10ml of olive oil
60ml of white wine

Cockle gel

10g of ultratex

Cauliflower couscous

30g of cauliflower, grated
8g of butter
salt
pepper

Girolles

30g of girolles, trimmed and lightly washed
10g of butter
salt

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

90g of Parmesan, grated
200ml of water
125g of Parmesan
8g of ultratex

To plate

1 handful of purslane
1 cauliflower, raw and finely sliced

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Sugar thermometer
Blender

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

In a stainless steel pan, caramelise the shallots. When they are almost done, add 450g of mushrooms and continue to cook until golden brown. Drain

450g of mushrooms
70g of shallots

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

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

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

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

500g of cockles
25g of shallots
1 sprig of thyme
10ml of olive oil
60ml of white wine

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

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

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

To prepare the girolles, add the butter to a hot frying pan and allow to foam. Add the girolles and season. When cooked, drain

30g of girolles
10g of butter
salt

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

Finish the dish with very thin slices of raw cauliflower and sea purslane. Spoon over the warm veal sauce