Heart & carrots, leek salad, and spaghetti squash

Ever since reading Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel, I’ve been getting a lot more into eating organ meats as I did as a child. I always loved heart, and I’ve rarely eaten it here in the USA. However, heart is a pretty common meat to buy at my local farmer’s market, so I’m happy to say that I’m able to have access to organic, grass-fed, local heart!

Heart is not commonly found in supermarkets, though sometimes you can find it hiding towards the end of the meat section or in the middle freezer aisle section. If beef heart is not available to you, you can always substitute for lamb or even chicken hearts, which are much more common.

Of course, if you are not used to eating heart it may be an acquired taste. This is why I purposely chose to add carrots and Worcestershire sauce to the meat, as it gives it a really lovely flavor. Another tip is to not cook the meat too much as it will end up being too rubbery as a texture and may put you off.

Other than that, this is a delicious, extremely healthy recipe that works great for your family and stores wonderfully for your meals during the week!

So without further ado…let us begin!

For the heart will need:

2 pounds fresh heart
2 garlic cloves
1 cup grated carrot
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp water
1 tsp fresh thyme

For the kale and leek salad you will need:

2 cups sliced fresh leeks
2 cups chopped kale
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp coconut oil
salt/pepper

For the spaghetti squash you will need

1 large spaghetti squash
coconut spray oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the spaghetti lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place on the side of your pan. Spray the inside of squash with pam and add salt and pepper. Place face down and use a fork to poke holes in the rounded tops.

Roast in the oven for about a half hour.

Step 2:

Thinly slice the heart and add to a large skillet with the tablespoon of coconut oil, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and the garlic. Cook on medium heat until the heart is no longer pink, but don’t overcook to where it looks rubbery. A taste test may do well here to make sure you are no overcooking the heart.

Step 3:

As the heart is cooking, peel and grate the carrots. When the heart is finished, add the carrots to the same skillet and cook down on medium heat with the tablespoon of water. Make sure the carrots still retain their color and texture, so cook only for a few minutes.

Remove the heat, add to the bowl with the heart and mix together.

Step 4:

In the same large skillet, add the leeks and garlic. Cook the leeks and garlic down on medium heat, then add the kale, salt, and pepper. Cook together until the kale is wilted down but still a bit crunchy. If you want softer vegetables, cook some more.

Step 5:

By this time the spaghetti squash will be done cooking. Turn over on its backside, let cool for a moment then use a fork to scoop out the insides. The insides will come out long and stringy like spaghetti. Put everything into a large bowl, drizzle some olive oil on and add some salt and pepper.

Step 5: Plating

Add as much heart, spaghetti squash and leeks to your plate as you like. This amount of food will usually serve four people, so depending on how many people are eating, plan accordingly.