Sweetbreads and Corn

Sweetbreads And Corn  - Crepes de Ris de Veau au Mais

 1 1/2  lb         sweetbreads, veal               

----  For the sauce: ----

4          tbsp     butter                             

                        seasoned flour for dredging       

4          tbsp     vinegar, cider                    

1 1/2   cup      heavy cream  

1          pinch  saffron threads (optional)                   

3          tbsp     chives, fresh                     

2          tbsp     butter                            

1          cup      corn, cut from 3 ears   

----  For the crepes (optional):----         

  3/4     cup      + 1 tbsp flour                    

  1/4     tsp       salt                              

  1                    egg, beaten lightly               

  1        cup      + 1 tbsp milk                     

  2 1/2 tbsp     butter, melted                    

Prepare the sweetbreads: Soak the sweetbreads in acidulated (lemon juice or vinegar) water or buttermilk/kefir/yoghurt for several hours or overnight. Rinse. In boiling water, blanch the sweetbreads for 5 minutes, drain, and refresh in ice water. Peel off the membrane, trim the sweetbreads, and divide into the naturally occurring lumps. Dry well on paper towels.

Make the sauce: Soak the saffron threads in the cream. Reserve.

In a skillet heat the butter over moderately high heat until the foam begins to subside. Dredge the sweetbread in flour seasoned with salt and white pepper, shaking off the excess, and saute them in the butter, turning them until they are golden on the outside and firm to the touch (4-8 minutes). Reserve.

In a skillet heat the corn in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, for a few minutes until it is barely cooked, and season it with salt and pepper.

Pour off excess fat from the skillet, add the vinegar, and deglaze the skillet, scraping up the brown bits. Add the cream, reduce the liquid by half, and add sweetbreads and heat through. Add the chives and serve with the corn.

This dish is best when served on a crepe or pancake. A crepe recipe is given below. Sourdough pancakes (q.v.) are our preferred accompaniment. Rice or baked potato are good alternatives, in which case reduce the cream by ¼ instead of ½.

Serves 4.

Make the crepes: In a bowl combine the flour and the salt, make a well in the center, and add the egg, the milk, and 1 1/2 Tbsp of the butter. Stir the flour gradually into the wet ingredients until the batter is combined and let the batter stand, covered with plastic wrap, for 1 hour. Heat a 5 inch crepe pan over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking and brush it with a little of the remaining 1 Tbsp butter. Stir the batter well, fill a 1/4-cup measure with it, and pour the batter into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan quickly so that the batter covers the bottom and cook the crepe until the underside is browned lightly. (The crepe should be thick.) Turn the crepe, cook it until the underside is browned lightly, and transfer it to a rack. Make crepes with the remaining batter in the same manner, brushing the pan lightly with the remaining melted butter as necessary. Keep 4 of the crepes warm, covered with a damp dish towel, in a preheated 200 F. oven, reserving the remaining crepes for another use. (The crepes may be stacked, separated by layers of wax paper, and frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap.)