As a part of my healing journey and to incorporate more nutrient dense food into my diet I have been cooking quite a lot of organ meat dishes lately. Organ meats are nutritional powerhouses and heart in particular is a good source of iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and B vitamins. But above all heart is a concentrated source of CoQ10, a vital source of energy production and prevention of oxidative stress. People with chronic health conditions are often deficient in CoQ10 and this is one of the main reasons I began to include heart in my diet! Heart is technically a muscle and has a very low fat content, so the key to have a tender stew is to slow cook it over low heat for a longer time. We really love the flavours of this stew and the texture of the heart is very similar to beef meat.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Lamb or Beef heart (I prefer lamb, but can’t always find local grass-fed ones!)
2 Medium Shallots (finely chopped, optional, I don’t eat shallot/onions myself!)
3 Carrots (chopped)
3 Celery Stalks (chopped)
1-2 Cup chopped Greens (Spinach, Chard and/or Kale)
2 Tbsp. Red Palm Oil
2 Tsp.Tumeric
2 Tsp. Ginger Powder
2 Tsp. Ground Coriander Seed
1-1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. ground Cumin
1 Tsp. ground Cardamom
2 Tsp. Herbes de Provence
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
1 Cup Bone Broth (thick and gelled)
1/2 Cup Organic Red Wine
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Parsely (optional)

Method:

1. Insert knife into cavity of the heart and cut into two halves. Remove the large blood vessels and cut heart muscle into bite sized (3/4″-1″) cubes.

2. Heat the oil into a large pot. Add the chopped celery and carrots and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the heart pieces, spices, herbs, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir well to coat everything and saute for another 5-10 mintues until the heart cubes are slightly browned.

4. Add the wine and broth and stir well to deglaze the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn down the heat, cover the pot and cook for 5-6 hours (lamb heart is more tender and takes less time to cook compared to beef) over low-medium heat until the heart is tender. I usually use a cast iron pot and put the pot in the oven at 325F, but you can also cook it on the stove-top.

5. Add the chopped greens after turning off the heat. Taste and add more salt and peppet if needed. If you like add the chopped parsley before serving.
Enjoy! 🙂

Serves 6-8.