I Heart Lamb

With my collection of random meats accumulating in the freezer, I figured it was time I got down to cooking...and experimenting with new ingredients and recipes!   I'm lucky enough to have a small farmers market set up every Saturday only a couple blocks away from my home, so I try to take advantage of this any chance I can get.  This week I picked up some "Red Russian" kale, yellow cantaloupe, and a chocolate croissant from Art-is-in Bakery.  (Mmmm...buttery goodness..)

However,  the item I was most excited about was the small lamb heart I purchased from the Canreg Station Farm and Pasture.

No bigger than the size of my fist, I was excited to prepare this little gem.

 I learned about butchering hearts from the king of offal, Chris Costentino.  

 

 

So, I cleaned up my little heart and prepped the rest of the ingredients for a tartare.

I decided on a side of brussel sprouts sauteed in butter and bacon.

Probably not the best choice, because those flavours are very strong and could overpower the delicate lamb, but the sprouts looked amazing in the store, and well...bacon makes everything better.











I minced the lamb heart and mixed it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon zest, salt, hot peppers (from my garden...yay!) and parsley.  It turned out being a little spicier than I planned, but still good none the less. I toasted some multigrain baguette to  eat the tartare with, and tried to plate it up all pretty and such.

Here is the finished product....

So, I think it turned out pretty good...but then again, I'll eat anything.  Next time I would lay off the peppers a little and I would try to remember ALL the ingredients I bought.  (I had some capers I planned on using as well...)  I'll be back at the market next Saturday to buy another little heart, and will probably try a grilled preparation next.

For now...I need to figure out what to do with the other random meats in my freezer....