Sour heart

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 5 pork hearts
• 4 liters of water
• 250 ml vinegar, light
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 1 large onion(s)
• 100 g celery
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• 2 carrots
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• 2 juniper berries
• 5 peppercorns
• Salt
• butter
• Flour
• 1 sauce cake
• 1 liter vegetable broth

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 1 day; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour

Sour pork hearts – a recipe from the Upper Palatinate

Soak the hearts in cold water for at least 1 hour (changing the water occasionally if necessary). Then place the hearts in a pot, fill with cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Roughly chop the carrots, celery, and leek. Peel the onion, cut it crosswise, and stud it with the cloves. Bring the water, prepared vegetables, vinegar, and spices to a boil in a large pot. Remove the hearts from the cooking water (rinse with warm water if necessary) and add them to the vegetable stock. Simmer gently for about 1 hour. Remove the vegetable stock from the heat and let the hearts steep in the stock overnight. The next day, remove the hearts from the stock, remove any fat and veins, and cut into fine strips. Strain the stock and reheat. Dissolve the gingerbread in a small bowl with a little warm stock. Make a dark roux with butter and flour. Slowly stir in about 500ml of the warmed broth, avoiding lumps. Bring to a boil and stir in the dissolved gingerbread sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes (stir in a little more broth if needed), then season with salt, pepper, and vinegar (it should already be slightly acidic). Now add the finely chopped hearts and let stand for another 15 minutes. This is traditionally served with bread dumplings, but in our region, mashed potatoes are more common. Explanation: The preparation may sound a bit complicated at first glance. If you like, you can skip the 10-minute pre-cooking and start directly with the vegetable broth. Even though it’s a “poor man’s meal,” my mother always placed great value on this method of preparation. I’ll keep it this way; the effort has always been worth it so far.