Beef Kidney, Whole 400g

Ox* kidney is a jewel in the carnivorous crown of nose-to-tail cooking and eating. A tasty, versatile and nutritious ingredient; its distinctive flavour and texture has earned beef kidney a staple place in traditional British cuisine. The comforting nostalgia of steak and kidney suet pudding graces many a table during the winter months.

Ox kidney represents excellent value for money and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and packed with riboflavin and iron. Kidney also has anti-inflammatory benefits and is known to be good for your heart.

Kidneys on hot buttered toast is a rustic classic; a simple but divine method is to sauté beef kidney pieces in butter and finish with cream and a little wholegrain mustard. For a devilled effect, mix flour, mustard powder, cayenne, and any other spices that tickle your fancy, dust over the beef kidney pieces, sauté in butter and add a little splash of stock towards the end. Alternatively to warm your body and soul, stew the kidney in soft onions, stock, and a fortified wine such as marsala or port, and serve with fluffy mashed potatoes.

Chef Val inspires:
x kidney is a very different delight to that of lamb in shape and of course taste, a gentler one I'd put forward. Preparation is easy as a whole beef kidney does not require the membrane* removal that lamb kidneys do. Simply cut away the nodules from the central white piece of fibrous fat and remove the white from each section.

>While many will simply discard the white part that's been cut away from the kidney, chopped up and rendered in a little oil and this will give you a delicious melted suet for cooking in.

Floured and fried with capers, that the capers be crispy, the butter brown and nutty and the kidneys kept pink, will give the cook a most delicious result. Finish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon juice.

Take for a longer journey and fry them in olive oil before adding, cumin, paprika, turmeric, a little cinnamon and black pepper. Then add in the onions and allow to cook for a bit before following with chopped fresh tomatoes and green pepper. Give them a slow braise under a lid for long enough that all is tender, the sauce thick and well-reduced. Season with lemon juice and salt before stirring in chopped fresh coriander, parsley or both. Delicious eaten with flat breads and labneh.

A most obvious go to is the suet pudding, the kidney combined with ox cheek or shin. A rich gravy containing a little ground ginger and a lot of black pepper will deliver warm comfort for cold days. Eat with dollops of English mustard mixed with horseradish.

A classic cream laced Dijon mustard sauce or green peppercorn sauce (the latter made with excellent, deep and rich beef stock) and either would be wonderful over beef kidneys. Serve both with buttered rice.

Vindaloo? And few remember such a good place for ox kidney which makes a wonderful curry in creamy sauce varieties, tomato-led chilli attacks and in dry curries. Vindaloo is my favourite.

*All Swaledale beef is native breed and raised on independent farms and smallholdings dotted around the wildly beautiful Dales. Slow grown and free to roam on lush Yorkshire pasture; the results are exceptional.

*The membrane may already have been removed.