Veal sweetbreads, spelt and pickled walnut

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These deep-fried veal sweetbreads are served with a truffle-topped spelt risotto. At Sam Yorke's restaurant, the puffed buckwheat is made in house by first dehydrating it, and then deep frying it, but you can use shop-bought puffed buckwheat instead.

First published in 2025

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Veal sweetbread

Spelt risotto

Pickled walnut gel

Method

1

Blanch the veal sweetbreads in heavily seasoned water for about 20 seconds

2

Transfer immediately to an ice bath to stop cooking and firm up

3

Peel off the membrane from the sweetbreads

4

Vacuum-seal them with lemon thyme and butter, and cook sous-vide at 64°C for 1 hour. After cooking, place in an ice bath to cool

5

Meanwhile, cook the spelt with the white wine until nearly evaporated

  • 200ml of white wine
  • 400g of spelt grains
6

Gradually add the chicken stock, simmering until the spelt is tender

  • 1l chicken stock
7

Once the spelt is cooked, add a splash of stock and stir in the butter and grated Parmesan. Remove from the heat and stir in the rocket. Season with salt to taste

8

Blend the pickled walnuts in a Thermomix or high powdered blender until smooth

9

Gradually add the Ultra-Tex to achieve the desired gel consistency

  • 2 tbsp of ultratex, or as needed
10

Before serving, dust the sweetbreads in buckwheat flour and heat up a few centimetres of oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided pan

  • buckwheat flour, for dusting
  • neutral oil, for deep-frying
11

Deep-fry the sweetbreads until crispy and golden, then drain on kitchen paper

12

Heat the spelt risotto and place it in a serving bowl

13

Add a pinch of lemon thyme leaves on top

14

Dot the pickled walnut gel around the risotto

15

Sprinkle puffed buckwheat over the top

16

Place the deep-fried veal sweetbread on top of the risotto

17

Finish with extra Parmesan cheese and sliced black truffle

First published in 2025

From a Kitchen Porter at a tapas restaurant in Rochdale to the chef-proprietor of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Leith, Sam Yorke’s career has followed a familiar trajectory. While his progression through the ranks of the brigade isn’t uncommon, what’s rare is the end result: a restaurant of glittering, star-studded success that’s cooking on all cylinders.

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