Heart Ragout
Heart Ragout © kvalifood.com
Heart ragout is an old-fashioned stew of diced pork heart, fried with bacon and simmered in stock with apples and Danablu cheese. It might sound unexpected, but the blue cheese adds a rich, rounded flavour that lifts the dish. A solid everyday meal that is cheap and filling.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 pork hearts, cut into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes
- ⅓ cup (1 dl) onion, finely chopped
- 2 slices bacon, cut into strips
- 20 g (¾ oz) butter, optional
- salt and pepper
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1⅔ cups (4 dl) stock
- 2–3 apples, peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼–⅓ cup (½–1 dl) heavy cream, optional
- 20 g (¾ oz) Danablu cheese
To serve
- mashed potatoes
- rowanberry or redcurrant jelly
Method
Brown the meat and bacon
Clean the hearts and cut the meat into roughly ½ inch (1 cm) cubes. Fry the bacon strips in a casserole until crispy. Remove them. Sauté the heart cubes and onion in the bacon fat until golden — add a little butter if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Add a sprig of thyme.
Simmer in stock
Lower the heat and pour in the stock. Put a lid on and let the stew simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender.
Add apples and cheese
Peel the apples and cut them into cubes. Mix the flour into a little cold water and whisk the slurry into the stew. Add the cream if using. Press the Danablu through a sieve and stir it into the sauce. Add the apple cubes. Cook for a further 5 minutes, until the apples are tender.
Serve
Scatter the crispy bacon strips over the stew. Serve with mashed potatoes and jelly.
Notes
- Danablu gives a surprising depth to the sauce. Use a mild Danablu if you prefer a more restrained cheese flavour.
- Add the apples at the end so they keep a little bite. Use firm, tart apples such as Granny Smith.
- The dish freezes well for up to 3 months — add the apples only after thawing.
- A variation is to mince the hearts through a meat grinder and use them as a meat sauce for spaghetti or mashed potatoes.