BEEF HEART ST JOSEPH

SERVES 6

20 MINUTES PREPARATION TIME

2 HOURS 25 MINUTES COOKING TIME

1 beef heart

50 g (1¾ oz) butter, chopped

6 French shallots, sliced

1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour

1 x 750 ml (26 fl oz) bottle of red wine (a shiraz or Côtes du Rhône works well)

200 ml (7 fl oz) veal stock

100 ml (3½ fl oz) crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) frozen blueberries

2 sticks of liquorice root

3 star anise

Salt and pepper

THE HEART

Slice the beef heart thinly and devein.

COOKING

Melt the butter in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat. Sauté the heart and shallot until the heart has browned. Stir in the flour until combined. Add the wine then gently reduce by half.

Add the stock, crème de cassis, blueberries, liquorice root and star anise. Bring to the boil. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours: the heart should be very tender. Season.

SERVE WITH

A good parsnip purée, for example.