Rognons Brochette à l’Espagnole

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 short metal skewers, or bamboo skewers soaked for 30 minutes
• •Heavy 3-quart saucepan for frying
• •Deep-fry or clip-on thermometer
• •Instant-read meat thermometer
• •Broiler pan or outdoor grill
• •Wire cooling rack set over a sheet pan
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the capsicum butter

   Beat the softened butter with the capsicum, parsley, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and a pinch of pepper. This is maître-d’hôtel butter, parsley-and-lemon compound butter, carrying the source entry’s exact proportion of two-thirds ounce capsicum to three ounces butter. Divide it into eight walnut-sized pieces and chill them while you cook. If the butter grows greasy and refuses to hold the capsicum, it has become too warm. Chill it for five minutes and beat again. Ça se rattrape.

2. 2

   Prepare the kidneys

   Pull away each kidney’s thin outer membrane. Split it lengthwise like a book, leaving a narrow hinge, then cut out the firm white core without severing the two halves. Thread a short skewer across the ends to hold the kidney open and flat. Pat every surface thoroughly dry, then keep the kidneys cold and uncovered while you prepare the garnish. Season only just before grilling, because early salt draws moisture onto the surface.

   Fresh kidney smells clean and faintly mineral. A sharp ammonia odor is spoilage, not character; reject it.
3. 3

   Press the tomatoes

   Gently squeeze each tomato half over the sink to press out the loose seeds and watery pulp, taking care not to crush its walls. Season the cut faces lightly with salt and pepper, then leave them cut-side down on a rack for ten minutes. Pat them dry. Pressing is what lets the tomatoes grill rather than collapse into their own water, and it leaves a shallow cup for the butter.

4. 4

   Fry the onion border

   Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy saucepan to 350°F (175°C). Separate the onion rings. Mix the flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, dredge the rings lightly, and shake away every loose patch. Fry in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep gold and crisp. Drain on a wire rack and season at once. If the rings soften while the kidneys cook, refry them at 375°F (190°C) for 30 seconds. Ça se rattrape, and the second frying makes them crisper.

   Crowding drops the oil temperature and gives the flour time to drink fat. Fry fewer rings at once than the saucepan appears able to hold.
5. 5

   Grill the tomatoes

   Set an oven rack about 4 inches from the broiler and heat it on high, or prepare an outdoor grill for fierce direct heat. Brush the tomato halves with half the melted butter. Broil them cut-side up, or grill them cut-side down and turn once, for 4 to 6 minutes, until browned at the edges and just tender while still holding their shape. Arrange them cut-side up in a circle on a warm oval platter and place one piece of capsicum maître-d’hôtel butter in each hollow.

6. 6

   Grill the kidneys fast

   Brush the kidneys with the remaining melted butter and season both sides with the remaining salt and pepper. Put them beneath the broiler or over the hottest part of the grill, leaving space between them. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 to 2 minutes on the second, until well browned and the thickest part reaches 160°F (71°C). The clock is only a guide because mutton kidneys may be larger than lamb. If the centre is under temperature, return the kidneys to the heat in 30-second bursts. Once overcooked they cannot be made tender again, so fast heat and an instant-read thermometer are the honest guardrails.

7. 7

   Build the platter

   Set one skewered kidney on each butter-capped tomato half as soon as it leaves the grill. The capsicum maître-d’hôtel butter should soften beneath it, glazing the kidney and pooling lightly over the tomato. Surround the circle with the crisp onion rings and carry the platter straight to the table. This dish waits for nobody. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a butcher for small mutton kidneys first. Lamb kidneys are easier to find and entirely practical, but they are milder and usually thinner, so judge them by temperature and touch rather than giving them the full cooking time automatically.
• •Use a well-drained jarred pimiento when fresh red capsicum is watery or out of season. The classical pantry understood preservation perfectly well. Dry it before chopping, or its liquid will loosen the maître-d’hôtel butter.
• •An outdoor charcoal grill suits the dish beautifully, but the coals must be fully lit and the grate fiercely hot. Keep the kidneys over heat rather than open flame, since dripping butter can flare and scorch them before their centres cook.
• •Serve with a light, peppery red such as Beaujolais-Villages. Heavy tannin makes the mineral character of kidney seem harsher, while Gamay keeps the tomatoes and capsicum lively.
• •Kidneys are best served immediately. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat them only until hot, preferably sliced briefly in a buttered pan. Keep leftover onion rings separate and recrisp them in a hot oven.

Advance Preparation

• •The capsicum maître-d’hôtel butter can be mixed and portioned up to three days ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then let it soften only enough to begin melting on the grilled tomatoes.
• •The kidneys may be trimmed, butterflied, and skewered up to six hours ahead. Keep them cold and uncovered on a rack, then pat them dry and season immediately before grilling.
• •The onions can be sliced and the tomatoes pressed up to two hours ahead, but dredge the onion rings only when the oil is hot. Fried rings may wait on a rack for about twenty minutes and can be recrisped just before plating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 305g)