When we first encountered veal kidneys we were enjoying the beginning of what was to be one of the greatest meals either of us had ever eaten. It was a six-course marathon, running the gamut from tiny, delicately-prepared pots of duck liver pate as an amuse-bouche through to the choice of as many as you could stand of some 20 odd cheeses to finish. It was in Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, a smallish, out of the way Mediterranean resort just north of the Spanish border, and frequented almost exclusively by fairly well-to-do looking French. And having been in France, and ordered off a menu in French, we were not entirely such that it was veal kidneys we were getting until about halfway through the course when we both looked at each other and said, “these mushrooms don’t really taste much like mushrooms, do they?”

These Rognons de Veaux were served in a kind of deep soup bowl with a sauce of what tasted like reduced veal stock, sauteed onions and very ripe chunks of avocado. As a preparation it was as delicious as it was surprising that something so commonly reviled would be served with avocado. When we returned to the US after that trip, we were enthused but a little apprehensive to try to recreate this dish ourselves. Neither of us had ever cooked kidneys of any kind before and so were unsure what to do with them, even if we could find them.

It was much to our surprise then, that we found them at our local supermarket, keyfoods in Park Slope, Brooklyn, almost immediately. They were about $3.00 for what appeared to be one of this particular bullock’s two kidneys. Their purplish-grey color was slightly off-putting, as was their repulsive smell of urine and farts when we got them home and opened them up. A little online research suggested that it was essential to make sure the kidneys were completely clean before cooking them as some of the bullock’s waste products they used to process could still be hanging around and would, well, add an unwanted je ne sais quoi. After rinsing the kidneys for a while, the smell dissipated, but it only really went away properly once I had removed the membrane from the underside, chopped the kidney into bite sized chunks and rinsed it for several more minutes. [In fact, recent research and experimentation suggests that soaking the kidneys in milk (after cleaning and chopping them) is a much better way of neutralizing their odor than simply rinsing them in running water.]

However, veal kidneys aren’t the kind of thing we eat very regularly because they, like most offal, are high in cholesterol and other bad things that taste good, and because they are so rich tasting, not to mention being kind of a pain to prepare on a weekday night. So it wasn’t until this past weekend that we decided to make them again, but this time we wanted to try a different recipe. My wife, Amy, had done quite a lot of research, looking into possible recipes but by the time we got around to starting the preparation, our wireless internet cut-out and we had to muddle along with only the vaguest idea of a recipe.

So the recipes that follow are delicious and make a potentially awkward ingredient into a gourmet preparation, but neither are actually established recipes, per se, since the first one is our attempt to recreate the dish we ate in Banyuls, and the second is our attempt to make a dish we only knew of by name. Thankfully, both worked out pretty well, but if anyone out there has any more tried and tested kidney recipes (apart from steak and kidney pie – I’m English, so I’ve already got a good one) we’d love to hear about them!

Enjoy!  We have also entered this recipe to Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook’s “Meat & Greet” event!

Rognons de Veaux avec Avocat (Veal Kidneys with Avocado)

Ingredients
1lb veal kidneys, cleaned and chopped (see above) into bite-sized chunks
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large ripe Hass avocados, pitted and cut into chunks (equivalent to size of kidneys)
1/4 stick unsalted butter
1/2 pt chicken or veal stock
salt and black pepper

Recipe
Sautee onions and garlic in 1/2 of the butter until soft and translucent before removing them to a plate.
Add second half of the butter and increase heat under pan to medium-high before adding the chopped up kidneys. Kidneys will give up quite a lot of liquid while cooking so it is important to keep heat relatively high at this stage. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until firm to touch.
Return onions and garlic to pan with kidneys, add stock to a depth 1/2inch and let reduce by half.
Add half the avocado and let liquid reduce by 1/2 again. Avocado should have melted into the sauce at this stage.
Kill heat and add remaining avocado. Taste sauce. Season with salt and pepper accordingly.
Serve immediately.

Veal Kidneys with Mushrooms and Cognac

Ingredients
1lb veal kidneys, cleaned and chopped (see above) into bite-sized chunks
1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
1/2 button mushrooms, quartered
2 large garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/2 beef stock/bouillon cube
1/2 pt room temperature tap water
75ml or 2.5 fluid ounces good cognac brandy
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 tbsp sour cream
salt and black pepper
2-3 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Recipe
Sautee onions and mushrooms in 1/3 of the butter until soft. Add garlic and cook for a further 3-5 minutes before removing from pan to a plate. Set aside for later.
Add second third of the butter and turn up heat to medium-high before adding kidneys. Cook for 7-10 minutes until firm to touch.
Return onions, mushrooms and garlic to pan and turn heat to high. Add cognac.
Let liquid reduce almost completely before adding about half the stock/water. Let liquid reduce by about 80 percent and mixture looks quite thick. Kill heat.
Stir in remaining butter and sour cream. Taste and season accordingly. Sprinkle in parlsey before serving.
We served it on a round of toasted French/Italian bread, but it would also be good over some baby spinach or even radicchio leaves.
We washed it down with a wonderful bottle of Barbaresco that we brought back from Italy. We very rarely drink anything that costs more than $10/bottle, so any powerful red wine would probably work well.