Kidneys in Gravy

This is a lovely frugal dish – I bought the kidneys from a butcher for 37p each.  Yes, you can actually buy meat for pence, still!!  Kidneys have so much flavour that you’d never believe that they cost as little as they do.  If you think of the flavour in a steak and kidney pie, all that richness comes from the kidney.  For the cost of an onion, a couple of potatoes, a stock cube and the kidneys you have an absolutely delicious meal. 

This is another of my one-pot-wonders – why make washing up! 

For two people you need : 

4 - 6 lambs kidneys

1 medium onion

2 medium/large potatoes

1tb chopped fresh rosemary

1 tb flour

1 pint lamb stock, with a dash of Worcestershire sauce added

Halve the kidneys, cutting out the fatty core and rinse well under running water – we all know what kidneys process! 

Cut the halves into half again and toss the in the flour. 

Peel and slice the onion into thin half moons.  Peel and slice the potatoes thinly. 

Place a layer of potato at the bottom of an oven dish, season with salt and pepper, add a layer of onion, half the kidneys and a sprinkling of rosemary.  Add another layer of potatoes, season, then onion, kidneys and rosemary again, and any flour left from the kidneys.  Pour over the stock, to come ¾ of the way up the dish – or a little more if you prefer a thinner gravy.  Finally add a layer of potato and cover loosely with foil.   

Cook in a medium oven for an hour and a half, or a little longer depending on how thickly you have sliced the potatoes.  I cooked mine at 180 degrees C.  Uncover for the last half an hour to brown the top layer of potatoes. 

Serve with a green vegetable alongside. 

My hubby is far too fussy to eat kidneys so I made a separate dish for him, replacing the kidney with cooked beef.  If someone in your household won’t eat kidney you could do the same there.  Actually, if you fancy trying it but are a bit unsure, just make enough for one person (with two or three kidneys) and try it out.  You could even make it with kidneys and cooked beef – steak and kidney! 

I hope you like it.  I love it, the kidneys have so much flavour – and offal contains lots of iron too.  It’s practically a vitamin!