BARBECUED WAPITI HEART – DARIUSH LOLAIY

SERVES 4 AS A STARTER

Heart is one of my favourite cuts of meat – it has none of the textural quirks of other offal and has a wonderful clean ‘meaty’ flavour without being too intense. This cut has to be cooked rare.

1 wapiti heart (or use lamb heart or

beef heart – beef will serve 6-8 people) olive oil salsa verde, herbs, lemon juice, to serve

To prepare the heart you need to cut it into three pieces. For the first piece, run the tip of a knife along the seam that curves around the heart – you will be able to separate a thin fillet of meat from the bulk of the heart. Cut the remainder of the heart in half lengthwise from the wide opening to the tip. Trim off any fat and any tough fibres inside the heart – they are very easy to spot. To remove the outer membrane, turn the heart skin-side down on a chopping board and half cut into the meat just below the fat. Slide the knife along the board, cutting under the membrane while holding the meat still, as if you were skinning a fish. You will have three pieces of meat that look like any steaks cut from an expensive cut of an animal.

Season with salt and dress with a little olive oil before cooking. Heat a griddle plate or barbecue to smoking hot and grill the meat for about two minutes on each side (cook the thinner piece for half that time). Rest the meat for a few minutes, then slice against the grain and on a slight bias. Serve with a salsa verde made in a mortar, or simply dress with herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice. ■ Watch A New Zealand Food Story from 24 February at 7pm Saturdays on TVNZ1 & TVNZ+