Cook's Note: The sweetbread hearts are the round sweetbreads that surround the heart of the animal. Thymus gland sweetbreads are longer and thinner in shape.
For the sweetbreads ragu:
Melt the butter in a large cast-iron
casserole dish. Add the mushroom trimmings, garlic, celery,
bay leaf,
carrots,
leeks,
onions and cook over medium heat until nice and tender but not caramelized or colored, about 5 minutes. Pour in the
wine and cook until the liquid has completely reduced and is almost gone. Pour in the
chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Rinse off the sweetbreads in cold water to remove any excess blood and gristle, and then add to the braising liquid and
poach for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool enough to handle before removing and breaking into bite-size pieces.
Strain the cooking liquid through a fine mesh
sieve into a clean pan and cook until reduced by half to create a heavily-flavored viscous broth.
For cooking the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, add 1 ounce of the butter and the mushrooms to a large
frying pan and saute. Add the sweetbreads ragu and continue cooking until slightly browned. Pour in some of the reduced sweetbreads
broth, reduce the heat to low and add the remaining butter.
Blanch the fresh Egg Pasta for about 45 seconds, and then
strain, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the
pasta to the sweetbreads and mushrooms and cook in the broth for another 45 seconds. Stir in the
Parmesan and parsley. If the
sauce looks too thick, add a touch of the reserved cooking water. Season with salt and pepper and a drop or two of lemon juice, if desired.
Serve in a large bowl and
garnish with the
prosciutto and a little more grated Parmesan.
This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary profession
