How to make pan-fried sweetbreads with mushrooms and polenta, and deep-fried sweetbreads with parsley, walnut and anchovy pesto
- Tender, moist and rich, sweetbreads are well worth the time and effort to prepare them properly
- But they’re probably not very good for you if you suffer from high cholesterol
Sweetbreads are one of the most versatile of organ meats. They are tender, moist and rich, but probably not very good for you if you suffer from high cholesterol. The flavour is quite neutral, so they should be served with an assertive sauce.
Pan-fried sweetbreads with mushrooms and polenta
It is easiest if you start preparing the sweetbreads the day before you want to serve them because they need to be soaked in water for several hours to leech out the blood. The next day, the sweetbreads are simmered, drained, then refrigerated under weights, which compresses them slightly so the texture is less spongy.
With polenta, I ignore the cooking instructions on the pack, which tells you to simmer the grain for about an hour, stirring constantly. It tastes much better if you cook polenta for about three hours (or even longer). Fortunately, though, you don’t need to stir it the entire time; just put the pot over a low flame, cover it with the lid and whisk it about every 15 minutes.
Ingredients
500 grams veal sweetbreads, thawed, if frozen
50ml fresh lemon juice
3 large shallots
300 grams small button mushrooms
