Every now and then I get a yearning for this dish, which you’ll readily find in almost any little bistro in Paris. The Dijon mustard is the perfect complement to the earthiness of the kidneys, and it is a particularly comforting dish to savor on a raw winter day. Kidneys seem to be increasingly hard to come by in our markets today, so when you see them, bring them home. Even if you think you don’t like rognons de veau, I beg you to try cooking them this way. I think you’ll be converted. Recently I asked the butcher at Citarella, a first-rate purveyor in New York City, if he had veal kidneys. Sure enough, he found some in the chiller below. But the one he brought up and proudly showed me turned out to weigh just over a pound (most veal kidneys are 7–9 ounces untrimmed). Still, I couldn’t resist, and as I thought of how I might use up what remained, a vision of a little beef and kidney pie, which my mother used to serve occasionally, popped into my mind (recipe follows). I’d quickly decided to make it with some good leftover Boeuf Bourguignon (preceding recipe), so I also purchased a pound of stewing meat and went home planning my dinners for the week ahead.

　　

Ingredients

1 veal kidney, about 1 pound or less

　　2 teaspoons butter

　　1 teaspoon light olive oil

　　1 shallot, chopped fine

　　1/4 cup white wine or vermouth

　　2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

　　1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard mashed into 1 tablespoon soft butter

　　Salt and freshly ground pepper

　　A scattering of chopped fresh parsley

　　

Step 1

Rinse the kidney and dry it. Cut out all the fat from the underside, remove any heavy membrane that’s been left on, then flatten out the kidney. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy sauté pan about the size of the kidney, and when the fat is sizzling, with the large bubbles beginning to break up, lay in the kidney, and cook over moderate to high heat for 12 minutes, turning it over once, watching the heat carefully so that it remains hot but does not burn. Remove the kidney to a warm plate, and cover to keep warm.

　　

Step 2

Sauté the shallot in the pan fat for about a minute, then add the wine and lemon juice, and reduce, scraping up the browned bits, until the pan juices are syrupy. Turn off the heat, and whisk in the mustard-butter about 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Now you can either slice the kidney in fairly thick slices or break it up in lobes, and return the pieces to the pan with any accumulated juice, leaving them there just long enough to heat up. Salt and pepper to taste, turning the kidneys in the sauce to season evenly. Set aside the portion you want to save for your Beef and Kidney Pie (recipe follows), and sprinkle a little parsley on your immediate serving. Enjoy it with some rice or polenta.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.